Through the Daybreak
by EnlightenedSkye
Summary: A sudden tragedy leads the Ghost crew to reconsider a former threat. [Back by popular demand! Sequel to Into the Endless Night. Strongly recommend you read that story first. Kanera, but not the main focus. Rated for blood and violence. Complete]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Long time, no see! Hope everyone has been doing well. This is the sequel to my story _Into the Endless Night_ , which was written this past spring. I've been very busy, so I appreciate everyone's patience in waiting for me to get around to this. If you haven't read the first story, I strongly recommend you do, for even with the plot refreshers in the first few chapters, you might be a little lost. You can find it on my profile. I promise it's a really quick read!

The conflict centers around Saneetra Billaba, who is the daughter of Sar Labooda and is Depa's niece. In my previous story, she was revealed to be the childhood friend of Kanan, but after the death of her mother on Geonosis, things went south and she was recruited by the Empire as the Ninth Sister. When we left off, she failed to kill Kanan and was punished severely by Darth Vader, who left her stranded on an escape pod to die. Fortunately for her (maybe), she was picked up by a Dathomirian male calling himself the Old Master. And that is where our story picks up.

This story will have ten chapters like its predecessor. There will eventually be triggers for violence and blood, but I'll post warnings in the author's notes far ahead of time. Constructive criticism and speculation are welcome-what do you think will happen next? And yes, that is a little bit of foreshadowing at the end of the chapter!

Again, it is in your best interest to read the first story before beginning this one. Enjoy!

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part One**

"Reach out with your anger."

The New Seeker sat cross-legged on the floor, back turned towards her teacher. She was only too willing to obey, furrowing her brow and curling her fingers reflexively.

Presently they were both crowded into a berth on the stolen transport, proceeding on a leisurely tour of uninhabited space with only each other as company. It was not a waste of time for either of them, however, because their partnership was mutually beneficial. With every training session, the Old Master presumably grew closer to his goal, and she better understood a part of herself that had been hidden for far too long. And to think she had ever been content in the ranks of the Inquisitorius, taking blind orders from a tyrant who couldn't separate him own desires from what needed to be done for the glory of the Empire.

Maul, as he'd once been called by those who knew him well, had helped her understand this. He had been the one to find her after she'd been stranded on an escape pod, mortally wounded and close to death. And he'd already known, in his own way, that what she really required was purpose and direction.

At one time she had that. She and her fellow inquisitors had gone undercover on various worlds, tasked with singling out force sensitive children and eliminating them. The woman known as Saneetra Billaba was a physician by trade, and a student of the Chalactan Adepts. Her life had been simple, her task clear: work to eliminate the sect of mystics that had caused the death of her mother. And so it had continued to be this way, until she was recalled for a mission that had required her particular set of skills.

She had operated on her childhood friend Caleb, now living under the alias Kanan Jarrus, giving him cybernetic implants to correct an injury sustained during battle. This had been to lull the rebels into a false sense of security, to coax them back into the normal routine so that they could be tracked. Besides, it wouldn't have done any good for Saneetra to kill him there while she was surrounded by their kind, though she was extraordinarily tempted. Even while he was unconscious, the hope and reckless devotion towards his cause was _sickening_. At one time, they had been kindred spirits. This was ancient history.

"You must picture the demise of those who have wronged you," the Old Master encouraged, clasping a hand on her shoulder. She shrunk away from his touch, the wrinkled flesh in tones of black and red. All the same, she was fairly vibrating with tension, her breaking point now on the horizon.

The jedi had all but stifled her childhood, sending her mother into a conflict that they all knew would be lost. After the death of Sar Labooda, her father confined her to the family compound on Chalacta, where her hatred only grew. It was an omnipresent black cloud hanging over her otherwise sheltered existence; it spoke volumes that no one from the Order, not even her aunt Depa or her apprentice, had come to comfort them in their time of need. So when the empire sought her out, she'd been ready, and jumped at the opportunity to seek revenge.

But in her moment of opportunity, she hadn't been able to kill Caleb. Blame it on lingering juvenile affections or her own weakness, but it had been her suffering Darth Vader's wrath as the rebels fled, escaping for the umpteenth time in the empire's pursuit of them. The right side of her face had been shredded in the ensuing blow from a light saber. In her youth, Saneetra had been considered conventionally attractive, even beautiful; she was sure this was no longer the case, for she'd lost the use of one eye, and a severed nerve had rendered her lips into a perpetual scowl. One evening as he helped nurse her wounds, which still struggled to heal even after several months, Maul had commented that the outside now matched the inside.

Her former self would have lashed out at him for such an asinine comment, but now the New Seeker had fully embraced the embers of rage smoldering within, she knew he was right. Kanan Jarrus had to die, not only for the sake of her pride, but for the future of the Empire she once fought to maintain.

"Erase from their memories the image of a weak child bending to the whims of a feeble master, unable to reconcile the power within her she never wanted or deserved-"

Saneetra rose in a second, removing the saber tucked into her waistband. As she turned, the blade grew to its full length, coming to a fraction of an inch of the Old Master's neck. He didn't so much as flinch, a malicious grin spreading across his lips. They both knew what this meant. She was ready.

"Make them remember who you are."

-0-

"So the two of them are dating?"

"Kind of. It's complicated."

"But he loves her."

"That doesn't mean they can be together!" Sabine insisted, reaching out to pause the image on the holovid they'd been watching. It had taken quite some time and more than a few breaches of security for her to procure the transmission, and she wasn't about to have her brother ruin the show with his ridiculous questions. "There are so many other factors."

Ezra made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the table in the _Ghost_ 's common area. "It's stupid. _We_ know they have feelings for each other, and all their _friends_ know they have feelings for each other-"

"But _they_ don't," she interrupted, gesturing to the flickering projection. "Trust me, I've been watching this show for years."

All was quiet that morning; no far-flung world had reached out to them, seeking protection from the scourge of the Empire, and the ISB wasn't knocking on their front door. When the crew could seize a bit of down time, they did so with all haste-but that didn't mean they weren't above their usual disagreements.

Hera Syndulla traversed the corridor and entered the chamber just in time to see her two adopted children fighting over the remote; apparently Ezra had grown tired of the romance programs Sabine was known to consume voraciously, and decided they would soon be watching something else. They were fairly evenly matched, what with the Mandalorian's sheer strength making headway against the apprentice's misuse of the force.

But her mediation skills were well-honed. Hera reached into the fray and removed the remote, turning off the projection over her shoulder. Almost immediately they disengaged from one another, gazing up at their leader with twin sheepish grins. As always, she could see right through their charade. "If you two could stop arguing for _one minute_ , you should come down to the loading docks. We've just received an off-world shipment."

Scrambling to stand, the two teenagers were off, their boots making tracks across the packed sand of Chopper Base. Their captain smiled, sinking into the couch with a sigh. Cutting a furtive glance to either side, she turned the holovid back on, indulging in a few brief moments of silence all to herself.

Ezra and Sabine arrived just in time to see the last of the crates unloaded from the shuttle. It was close to midday, and the desert of Atollon was sweltering under the punishing heat. Zeb paused to wave at the two of them and then bent back to his work, pushing the container the last few feet into the receiving area, which even after all the time they had to settle down was little more than a hut.

At least there were overhead lights and environmental controls, which were working overtime to keep pace with the sunlight beating against the windows. Kanan stood in the middle of the mess, mentally taking inventory of what they had and what supplies went where. As they entered, he regarded them with a nod, the pupils of his cybernetics enormous against the silvery whites. Initially, they'd found this unsettling, but even Ezra had to admit that his master was the same as he'd ever been. Perhaps even more perceptive.

They immediately set to inspecting the shipment, for it wasn't often that their brigade received correspondence from the outside world that wasn't related to a mission or the infrequent welfare check from the refugees on Lira San. If they wanted personal items or other frivolities, the crew often had to trade favors for the services of local merchants, who were as of yet wary of becoming implicated in the rebel's schemes. But there were always cracks in the blockades, and the Empire was never as clever as they thought they were. And so they often had their fun.

Sabine leaned so far over into a crate that she almost lost her balance and tumbled into it, but regained her composure. This box was addressed to her; opening one end, she confirmed that it contained some of the finest armor wax that credits could buy. The present was certainly unexpected, but not unwelcome. "It's from Ketsu," she mumbled quietly, pleasantly surprised.

"How do you know?" Kanan asked.

She tilted the lid towards him, revealing the insignia of the Black Sun syndicate. It seemed that some habits never died. As much as she wanted to believe that her former classmate had the empathetic capacity to send unsolicited gifts, the fact that she had once left her for dead suggested otherwise.

In the meantime, Ahsoka had entered the room quietly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Over the past few weeks, the strategist formerly known as Fulcrum had some late nights. No matter how hard she fought to suppress the memories of Anakin, it all came flooding back to her once she closed her eyes. The clash of sabers, the menacing flash in her former master's eyes, the noxious wasteland of Malachor where she almost met her demise-it was all so close to the surface. Reminders of their confrontation followed her wherever she went, for in the battle she'd lost the tips of several fingers and the top of one towering montral. Her sprained ankle had long since healed, but she was still trying to adjust her saber technique to the added encumbrance to her balance. Most of the crew hadn't seen her in high spirits for some time, save for the two other resident force sensitives, who had taken to meditating with her when the timing felt right.

"Who ordered chocolate covered cambylictus berries?" Ezra wondered aloud, his mouth already watering at the thought of the sweet treat. The plant was indigenous to Endor, and increasingly rare due to the unrest in that sector of space. "I hope they share."

"They might," Ahsoka assured him, taking the box from his hands. With a twinkle in her eye, she fished out one vibrant purple berry and popped it into her mouth.

His mentor's teasing notwithstanding, Ezra was already distracted by another find. Their resident Lasat had apparently procured a new set of clippers for his beard, and was showing them off proudly to anyone who would listen. "Hey Zeb, you wouldn't mind sharing, would you?" He made a show of stroking his chin where facial hair was starting to grow in thin patches. "You know, with a fellow _man_."

Sabine snorted, not bothering to hide her incredulous expression. Ever since his last confrontation with Lord Vader, Ezra had been trying his hardest to gain-in his eyes-the only thing that separated him from being a child and a man. Kanan, Zeb, and Rex all had facial hair after all, so why shouldn't he? After only a few weeks of infrequent growth, in which he'd only produced a wispy collection of hairs across his upper lip, she had pulled him aside and let him know, in no uncertain terms, that no brother of hers was going to parade around the base looking like the shifty kind that hung around outside cantinas at night. He'd been pretty good at grooming since then, even if his dreams of a full beard were a little deluded.

Even though he'd emphasized more than once that manhood was about the good things one did for others and _not_ about what grew on your face, Zeb wasn't above a little teasing. "Yeah, kid. Let me know when you can reach the top shelf in your closet."

He shrugged that comment off, finally finding something in the pile that was addressed to him. Realizing that Chopper was nowhere to be found, Ezra proceeded to the nearest computer terminal and fed the holodisc into it. The projection that came on screen was the image of none other than his good friend Zare Leonis, gesturing as he spoke in such low tones that Sabine could scarcely hear it. As the message played, he nodded at whatever points Zare was making, his taut ponytail bobbing up and down.

At last Sabine came to the one delivery she'd been expecting. This crate was wrapped in enough shock absorbing tape to choke a bantha, though the warning stamped on all sides still came through, written in Mandalorian and standard: _DO NOT JOSTLE OR EXCITE. DANGEROUS CHEMICALS. HANDLE WITH CARE._

She pried open the lid and tested the weight of one of the grenades in her hand. It was just the right shape that she could wrap her fingers all the way around it, the fuse sticking out at an odd angle. Her explosives had saved the day more than once, and she prided herself on keeping her supply fully stocked.

"I'm going to test these out," Sabine announced, for each batch had its own personality. Some detonated quickly, whereas others continued to smoke long after going off.

Ezra removed the holodisc and shut down the terminal. "I'm coming too." It would be a rare bit of excitement in his otherwise boring week.

"Be careful!" Kanan called out, more out of paternal instinct that anything else.

Sabine looked over her shoulder, smiling mischievously. The desert was calling her name.

"Come on. What's the worst that could happen?"

 _(to be continued)_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short! Gotta get through exposition. And don't worry, no one dies... _yet_.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Two**

The first leg of their mission is harrowing to say in the least. Old Master insists on foregoing disguises, as if a severely disfigured woman and her devilish looking companion wouldn't attract attention aboard a loaded cargo ship. They keep their hoods up and eyes trained towards the ground. Luckily for them, the characters they were dealing with were already shifty and turned a blind eye to strangers lurking about their cargo, so as long as they paid their bribe. Other than that, it had been a simple switch, and no one had been the wiser.

New Seeker took the helm as they sped away from the station, relishing the expanse of open space before her. All was quiet in the cockpit, but it was as if she could feel the weight of the extra crate in their hold. Planning on killing Caleb was another thing entirely-they were going to indirectly _murder_ an innocent person.

The Mandalorian girl's face was a flash in her memory, rushing to escape after operating on Caleb on the rebel ship. She'd been leaning against the docking clamp in the threshold of the shuttle with her hair falling over her eyes, smiling at everyone who walked past. She seemed so _blameless_ ; Saneetra had to keep reminding herself that she was complicit in the rebels' scheme.

But all the same-did she have a _family_? A circle of good friends?

Maul didn't particularly care for her misgivings. "Once the shipment lands, it will be at least forty-eight hours until they come looking for us." The both knew what that meant. As with the time before, the jedi and his friends would be frantic to seek resolution. Though Saneetra expected that this time, when given the chance, Caleb would not hesitate to take her life in retaliation.

"I will soon have another apprentice," he pressed, baring his pointed teeth in a dangerous grin.

Her hands froze over the navigational controls as she resisted the urge to choke him out then and there. "I am _not_ your apprentice," she ground out, though somewhere deep down she knew that she wouldn't have gotten this far without him. In many ways, the New Seeker still felt like a youngling, as her initial training had been quite hasty in the Empire's rush to get her out into the real world on a mission of real importance. But she was through with taking orders from anyone, let alone a rejected sith.

He chuckled ruefully, but said nothing. Saneetra dealt him a withering glance, one that suggested he ought to sleep with one eye open that night. An uneasy silence descended over the two.

They waited.

-0-

"Sabine, slow down!" Ezra huffed, trailing a few paces behind her as they charged across the desert.

She glanced over her shoulder but didn't stop. They were approaching the edge of the barricade they'd built with sensor beacons. A few enormous krykna were coming into view. The eight-legged creatures were notoriously skittish around technology, and this was just as well. They'd already lost one lieutenant to the labyrinth of dens underneath their feet, and didn't plan on losing anyone else.

To one side of them loomed a natural hilltop piled high with stones. The soil was sparse, but precious few plants were poking their heads out between the crags in the rocks. Even before they got there, Ezra knew what she was planning to do.

Inches from the edge of the barricade Sabine dug her boots into the dirt and almost lost her balance. Arms waving, she righted herself, and then began to laugh at her own clumsiness.

Ezra joined in, slightly winded from the chase. As soon as they exited the docking port, they broke into an easy jog which quickly turned into an all out sprint. It often did.

There had once been a time in the not so distant past when the two of them hadn't exactly gotten along. He would be the first to admit that he hadn't been in the right frame of mind after Malachor, having been consumed by guilt over Ahsoka's injuries and Kanan's blindness. Though everyone around him insisted that he shouldn't reopen old wounds, he did, and relived the memories until he could take it no longer. Ezra wasn't aware of it, but the sith holocron was influencing him, causing him to become a more malevolent version of himself.

The day Kanan left to receive his cybernetics, tensions aboard the Ghost reached an all time high. In the middle of the night he left his room, determined to leave Atollon and the awful images that haunted him every time he closed his eyes. Sabine intercepted him; a brief struggle resulted in several unintentionally broken ribs and a complete emotional breakdown. Since then, the influence of the dark side was all but gone in his life. Ezra instead focused on what he should have from the beginning: finding out who he was as an individual, as young people his age often did, and honing his craft as a jedi.

Exhaling raggedly, he made a grand show of collapsing on the ground from mock exhaustion, arms and legs flailing. Sabine joined him sympathetically, elbows resting on her knees. The grenade was still in her hands, and her noticed she was taking extra care to make sure it didn't get jostled in the meantime.

It was now a little after midday, but a few wispy clouds had taken the edge off the heat. He didn't know just how many afternoons they'd spent like this between missions, talking about anything and everything. It occurred to Ezra then that he'd never had such a close friend in his life.

After a while spent in contemplation, he reached out to her, fingers splayed. Sabine grinned and squeezed his hand back, using the extra support to stand.

"I'm gonna hit that rock that looks like Zeb's head," she declared, lining up her sights.

He could see it about halfway up the incline. It did indeed somewhat resemble their favorite Lasat. "Bet you can't," he teased back, even though as far as he was concerned she could do anything.

"Sit back and watch the master." The Mandalorian tested the weight in her hand, hesitating for a moment before removing the pin. She had at least ten seconds before detonation, which left plenty of time for the grenade to reach its target.

To wind up the throw, Sabine brought her hand back behind her head and took a step back. Just as it always did, the fuse hissed and crackled. But this time it detonated prematurely, before it could even leave her grasp.

It's the last thing she ever hears.

-0-

Hera is elbow deep in the machinery of the hyperdrive when her blood suddenly runs cold. Behind her, Kanan forgets to duck as he enters the room, striking his head on the frame of the hatch and causing the contents of the box he was carrying to go flying across the room.

He doesn't have to say anything. Something just wasn't right.

They encounter a wide eyed togruta near the speeders, hands clenched at her side. "It's Sabine," she confirms, and they don't ask questions.

Kanan thought he sensed Ezra's anguish through the force, blaring like a siren and causing his head to pound. Even on Malachor in the aftermath of the accident that had stolen his sight, he'd never felt anything like it. Noticing how Ahsoka was pale faced and stricken, he offered her assistance and together they clambered on to the speeder. Hera followed them, lips pressed in a thin line as she mentally prepared herself for what was to come.

 _(to be continued)_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Fair warning, this chapter contains graphic description of injury. Sorry in advance for all the feels you're about to experience!

Next time: There are theories, and then there's plans of action. Sabine starts to adjust to a new reality.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Three**

The blast is so strong that Ezra is blown backward from his sitting position, debris stinging his eyes. His ears are ringing so strongly that he can't hear anything else for several seconds. As he scrambles to his feet, he's hit by a sudden wave of vertigo and almost topples over on top of Sabine, who's curled to one side and screeching more loudly than he ever thought possible.

Through his missions with the _Ghost_ crew and subsequent training, Ezra has seen some horrific things. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight of his friend's injuries-there was just _so much blood_.

Blood covering the side of her face, dripping down the side of her neck into the cracks of her armor. Blood pooling between her fingers and coating her hair. Tiny shards of metal had embedded themselves in her scalp and even on the surface of her armor, creating quite the gruesome scene. Without a second thought to his own injuries, Ezra gathered her into his arms and cried, "Sabine! Are you okay?"

It was a massively rhetorical question, for surely he could tell just by looking at her that _she wasn't okay._ That's what she would have thought, if everything around her was not completely silent. She responded by curling into his chest and wailing even louder. The pain was more than she'd experienced in her entire life, and Sabine considered herself to have a pretty high tolerance towards most cuts and scrapes. It was as if she could feel the life force draining out of her, staining the sand below them. And then she discovered a troubling new development.

She couldn't hear herself scream.

This wasn't the first time Ezra has felt helpless, so he sends out the sensation of sheer terror on all of his mental frequencies, hoping that Kanan, Ahsoka, _anyone_ hears it and comes to their aid. He couldn't possibly get Sabine back to Chopper Base in her present state.

Besides the cries of his best friend, the desert was silent. Even the krykna had ceased their movements and dived underground in reverence. In every direction, there was no one as far as the eye could see.

He forced her to unclench her hand, prying the grenade's pin out from her fingers. The gloves she'd been wearing absorbed some of the blast, but underneath the durable fabric all he saw was raw flesh torn bloody. Swallowing the sheer dread rising in his throat, Ezra dropped his chin to the top of her head, not caring how filthy he got. And not knowing that she couldn't hear them, he mumbled encouraging words, rocking them back and forth in the dust.

Two speeders arrived a few minutes later. Hera barely had time to stop her vehicle before she was running towards them, expression wrought with horror.

At first she took the two of them in her arms, but then Sabine leaned into her, trying her best to see around the blood dripping into her eyes. "Momma," she wailed, reverting back to childlike exclamations in her panic, "Momma, help me!"

Frantically she took stock of her daughter's features, including the dust and burn marks that covered her arms. "Oh, sweetheart. It's alright. I'm here. Momma's here," Hera assures her, voice wavering so hard that Ezra had a hard time believing it.

Sabine's cries weaken and she reaches out to touch Hera's lips, leaving a bloody trail where her hands have been. She repeats these words as many times as she can in one breath, watching the desperation grow in the girl's features.

Finally Ezra can take it no longer. He runs to Kanan and wraps his arms around his midsection, burying his face into his shirt. Ahsoka places a placating hand on his back and begins to rub in small circles, brows furrowed in concern. Over his shoulder, the adults exchange a look that conveys boundless depth.

Soon they are beginning their trek back to base. No one wants to see Sabine try and walk, so Hera leans her against the handlebars of the speeder in the reverse direction she's facing and drives with one hand, the other braced on her back. They take off at a decent clip, churning up clouds of sand behind them.

Noticing the limited transportation, Ezra insists he can walk the mile or so home. Shoulders drooping and feet dragging, he makes it only a few steps before he collapses, weeping in a way he hadn't since learning of his parents' death.

Some sort of silent communion happens between Kanan and Ahsoka. She takes the speeder without a word, leaving master and apprentice alone on the Atollon wasteland.

He's there in an instant. Before Ezra can protest, he finds himself lifted off his feet and carried like a small child, the only sounds being his muffled tears and Kanan's heavy boot steps.

-0-

"We are fortunate that she was wearing everything but her helmet," the fleet medic tells them irreverently as they stand outside the makeshift surgical suite some time later.

 _Fortunate_? One of Hera's hands, which has been resting comfortably in the crook of Kanan's elbow, clenches down with undue force. Her daughter was less than a foot from a detonating hand grenade and this was supposedly preferable to _something else_?

Her lover didn't so much as flinch, accepting the proffered datapad. A computer's recreation of Sabine in profile dominates the screen. As they watch, areas of particular impact are illuminated. "The proximity to the explosion resulted in complete sensorineural deafness on both sides. We're working to salvage the external ear. To restore hearing would require a complete cochlear transplant," the young man explains, his expression relaying that this was not unheard of, but probably couldn't be done with the resources they had.

Kanan swallows thickly and has to glance away. There had been a time when he'd been prepared to make peace with the loss of another sense, but if there was a way to help Sabine, he would see to it come hell or high water. "Is there anything else?"

He indicates another set of colors. "Extensive scarring over the scalp and face. If the shrapnel had gone a touch deeper into the elbow, we would have had to amputate."

"If that's all," Hera exclaims sardonically, her voice an octave higher than normal. She moves off from the group, burying her head in her hands.

The medic interprets this social cue as an opportunity to leave. He soon did, with a promise to retrieve them when Sabine started coming to. As Kanan watches, Hera's lekku inexplicably arch away from her midline, indicating her anguish.

They step into the nearest unoccupied room, not waiting for the door to slide shut before falling into each other's arms. Over the years they'd found comfort in one another in times of need, but somehow this felt different. Unlike Ezra's temptation with the dark side and Cham's treachery, Sabine's condition was completely out of their hands. Neither liked feeling powerless.

"It's going to be alright, Hera," he murmurs. "She's going to live. We're going to find out what caused this."

She steps back, hands pressed flat against his chest. "You don't know that, love. Nothing is certain. If this was an accident, it could easily happen again. And all the investigation in the universe isn't going to give her hearing back. Not without a miracle."

When Hera was upset, her native Rylothian accent came to the forefront. By the end of her train of thought, her words are so slurred together that he can barely discern where one ended and the other began. From the corridor came a tangle of muffled voices; he recognizes them as that of Ahsoka and Rex, the former of whom was in tears. Everyone knew the togruta shared a special bond with Sabine; their relationship was more like that of aunt and niece than brothers in arms.

Whatever conversation they were having reached its emotional breaking point, and Ahsoka was off, her footsteps echoing about the walls. From Rex's preliminary findings, the smoke grenades they'd been delivered didn't appear to be tampered with, but it was impossible to tell without detonating more. At the behest of Commander Sato, who was currently away on mission with _Phoenix Home_ , they'd gone to general quarters, just in case. Their partners in trade hadn't yet been alerted to their plight, but she suspected that the crew would have more than a few questions for the long haul freighters that brought in their supplies from all corners of the galaxy. It was possible that this wasn't an act of maliciousness by their many enemies, but a simple accident. To Ahsoka, this simply wasn't _logical_ ; Sabine was well versed in the handling of explosives. She was too careful, too conscientious, yet had a way of reckless abandonment that had endeared the girl to her.

After many years of practice, Ahsoka had learned to hide her misgivings behind a facade of calm. She had been expected to keep it together in more harrowing situations before, but that didn't mean she wasn't mourning in her own way.

Entering the _Ghost_ , she turns into the main galley and stands before Sabine's cabin. The hatch is locked tight, but she knew the passcode after many a night spent telling stories and painting the walls, though her creations never looked as beautiful as her companion's. Many times Hera joined them and the women relished the opportunity to be together, knowing each time that it may be the last. Right now, she needed to be in the room where these wonderful things had happened, to gather her thoughts and prepare for what she was about to see when the bandages came off.

The lights are dimmed, but Ahsoka can make out the form of a young man facing away from her, legs crossed and upper body bent to his work. Around him lay sundry pieces of armor, only a few of which had been cleansed of blood and debris. As she watches, Ezra takes a cloth from a floor and sets to scrubbing Sabine's chest plate with undue diligence.

Carefully, she says his name, and he turns his chin up to her. It's plain to see that the boy has been crying, for his cheeks are still stained with tears. Glancing back at his work, Ezra explains, "She polishes her armor every few days. I thought it would be a good surprise when she wakes up."

He removes a dollop of Ketsu's armor polish from the jar balanced on his knee and buffs the surface to an immaculate shine. Ahsoka joins him on the floor, taking one of the shin guards in her hands. She can feel the grief rolling off Ezra in waves, so she replaces it with hope. Acceptance. Serenity.

At last he hands her another rag, treating his mentor to a forced smile. But there's something else behind it, a little bit of the usual twinkle in his eye.

They both return to work.

-0-

Sabine awakens to a reprise of the most severe pain she's ever known. Everything hurts, all the way down to the tips of her toes. Her head is throbbing so hard that she can barely focus on anything, let alone register that she's in the infirmary on Chopper Base.

It all comes rushing back to her. Their foot race, their wager, the explosion. Screaming. _Silence_.

She attempts to raise her hand, but it feels like she can only move her appendages in slow motion. Moving it into view, she finds that everything up to her shoulder is covered in gauze. Little dots of blood have already begun to prick through the white material, and just the simple motion is excruciating.

Experimentally, Sabine turns her head to one side and instantly regrets it. She's keenly aware that something is missing; the network of half-healed scars across her scalp pull apart, causing her to inhale sharply through her teeth.

At least, she _thinks_ she did. All of a sudden, the world is quiet. Even the rustling of the blankets doesn't register. "Help." She thinks she says this in a normal tone, but it comes out in a whisper.

The medic is at her side instantly, checking her vitals and administering some foul tasting medicine. Her throat is raw from crying out. The young man hovering above her is saying something, but she can't understand it for the life of her.

He seems to realize this and begins again, making sure the motion of his lips is exaggerated with every word. Sabine's gaze drifts downward, and she finally understands: " _Are you in pain?_ "

With the hand that was less damaged in the blast, she offers a weak thumbs up.

There's more medication which feels like ice flowing through the veins. Sabine relaxes enough to get some sense of the rest of her body; save for her arms, everything below the neck feels alright. Her heart rate slows, but her cheeks feel like they are pulsating.

Both elbows have been immobilized with some kind of splint, but her shoulders are just fine. With a shrugging motion, she brushes against the ear that had been on the opposite side of the blast.

 _Nothing_.

Doing the same thing with the other side is futile, for she can't discern anything underneath the bandages that cover most of her profile. Now that she's confirmed her own deafness, Sabine is afraid to close her eyes for fear of losing contact with the world. But the medication soon takes effect and she does anyway, dozing off into a fitful sleep.

She comes to a second time to what feels like a slight rumbling underneath her cot. It fluctuates irregularly, but she feels it. Someone is coming.

Several people enter the room in a flurry of activity. Kanan is the first to reach her, his expression stricken no matter how hard he tries to hide it. He takes in the sight of his daughter, so strong yet in that moment so fragile, and presses a kiss to the bandages across her temple. He doesn't say much because he doesn't need to. " _You pulled through. That's my girl."_

Hera comes to stand at his shoulder and makes a comment whose nuances are lost as she chokes back a sob. Sabine thinks she can decipher a few words: _like this...firefight...here for me…_

"I love you," she blurts out just as Zeb comes into view. It occurs to her that their family doesn't say it enough. And what good was that, considering any one of them could die on any given day? "I love you all."

The Lasat is shocked at how different her voice sounds, fluctuating in tone and shifted into a higher register. What's more, she can barely recall to put pauses between the words, causing it to come out close to gibberish. But Zeb understands, because he's worked with her for so long that he doesn't _want_ to remember a time when the sarcastic, fun-loving teenager wasn't at his side. He places his index finger into her free hand and she squeezes it, managing a small smile around the ointment dried on her face.

Eventually Ahsoka works her way to the front of the crowd, beaming down at her and relaying, _extremely slowly_ , just how glad she was to see her awake. She just _exudes_ tranquility and affection. Sabine soaks it up like rays of the sun.

Ezra approaches tentatively, eyes wide with shock. "I'm not made out of glass," she protests, beckoning him to sit at the bedside with Hera. Their mother is gently stroking her arm through the bandages.

After a long while in which no one's lips moved, Sabine tries to make light of the situation, though it retrospect it seemed ridiculous. "You're all looking at me like you've seen a ghost."

What ensues is a bit of bickering among the adults, conducted behind curved palms. This irritates Sabine, who is just getting used to reading lips. Ultimately Kanan leaves and returns shortly with a datapad tucked under his arm. The screen is off, so he turns the reflective surface towards her and allows her to witness the damage the accident has wrought.

She shortly forgets to breathe. Her entire head has been shaved, leaving behind the barest suggestion of her natural hair, a dusky color near black. Dozens of small wounds have been stitched up across her forehead and scalp, even bridging her nose with their irregular tracks. The skin on her neck is red with burns. All of this would heal in due time. What's more concerning is the swath of bandages that encircles her face like a halo; on one side, the slightest swell of her ear. On the other, a flat surface.

The realization hits her like a volley of blaster fire. She's irreversibly wounded and permanently trapped in the silent version of an otherwise vibrant world. Sabine begins to shake, but the tears never come.

 _(to be continued)_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for sticking around. I'm not getting as much of a strong response to the sequel as I did with the original story, but I'm confident in the plot and am going to take it as far as it can go. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited! Your encouragement is appreciated.

Next time: Visiting an old friend turns treacherous. Did you really expect anything else from a bounty hunter?

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Four**

"Just a little bit farther," Hera promises, easing the _Ghost_ into open space. Ezra sits beside her in the copilot's seat, trying not to fidget. He feels unrest deep within him, the kind that can only be remedied through immediate action.

At last they reach a safe distance from the Phoenix Squadron's patrol and come about sharply. At Hera's signal, Kanan remotely opens the external hatch to release an undetonated grenade into their surroundings.

Slowly, almost as if in suspended motion, it floats around their bow and comes to rest off their nose. There's the muffled sound of boot steps in the corridor and then the console before the apprentice lights up indicating the upper gun turret has been brought online. The sluice of the laser beam cuts through the darkness, causing the grenade to explode in a fanfare of smoke and metal shards. Even though it was some distance away, the cabin shakes, and Hera bends down to the internal scanners.

Ezra swallows thickly and looked away, trying to hide the way the second blast had set him on edge. The accident that had stolen his sister's hearing was only one day in the past, but he still sees her bruised and bloodied every time he closes his eyes. Presently she was recovering in the infirmary on Chopper Base, though she was in much better spirits. Through most of the first night, she'd been inconsolable as she realized just how much her daily routine would have to change. She could no longer enjoy music or casual conversation with the pilots, and would never again hear the voices of her family. It was completely up in the air whether or not she could ever go on missions again now that her main means of situational awareness was compromised. This was perhaps the most devastating part, for Sabine had abandoned the academy and eventually bounty hunting for the rebellion. Most of all, she feared being useless to their cause.

His mother makes a hushed exclamation of wonder as her gloved fingers dance over the keys. As he watches, multiple schematic and sensor readings detailing exactly what had happened by the nanosecond appear. After some time Kanan joins them in the cockpit, his cybernetics adjusting to the change in light.

Suddenly Hera swears and pitches forward, burying her face in her hands. Ezra reaches for her but then she leans back, gesturing at the screen.

"That's twice the concentration of detonite that was in the last shipment!" She exclaims, gripping the armrest so hard that he fears it might snap in two.

Kanan places a comforting hand between her shoulder blades, bending over the instruments to confirm this. "Is there any chance that it's a factory defect?"

She stands and approaches the back of the cockpit; because the door is closed, she doubles back into the room and begins to pace. "We can try all of them if you want, but I guarantee they'll all do the same thing. No weapons manufacturer worth his alliance with the resistance would sell us goods like that, especially considering how much clout we have in the local markets."

The two men both look away when she turns to them, expression feral with rage. Captain Syndulla is a formidable pilot and strategist, and downright fearsome when she's angry. "Someone set us up. And when I find out who it is, I swear to you I will rip them _limb from limb_!" She all but screams, kicking the paneling in the wall with her boot. It leaves a sizable dent.

Once the smoke has cleared from her outburst, the jedi says her name, and it gives her pause. He doesn't have to say what they both already know: that nothing could even be _halfway_ resolved unless they went about it with a certain level headed examination. Sighing, Hera returns to her seat and collapses into it.

Ezra reaches for her hand to comfort her in the only way he knows how. She squeezes her son's hand and allows his reassurance to flow over her like so much water. "We need to get in touch with our contacts on the outpost in the Bespin System. That's where all the shipments to this system are put together. Maybe someone heard something, saw something," Kanan says.

"Even if they did, do you think they would tell _you_?" Hera challenges, forever playing devil's advocate. But she was right; only the dishonorable sort would risk their lives to forge a lucrative trade deal with the rebels. They had to tread carefully.

Suddenly the boy had an idea. He shrugs, suggesting, "We could always get in touch with Hondo-"

" _No_!" Kanan and Hera exclaim at once, putting that idea to bed.

Eventually, it is decided that they would detonate the remaining explosives for safety and return to Atollon to discuss their options. Ahsoka hadn't left Sabine's bedside for more than a few minutes for almost a full day; she'd been the one to bring the _Ghost_ 's holoprojector into the infirmary and set it up so the two could watch Sabine's shows. Chopper soon caught on, parking himself at the foot of the cot and projecting running subtitles into the space underneath the image. And that's how they left them that morning, the atmosphere jovial yet tentative.

Some time later, Ezra and Kanan stand in the cargo bay, preparing to jettison the empty crate into space. Rolling it over, the apprentice uncovers a starburst with one pointed end painted on the underside. Both recognize it immediately due to their familiarity with a certain bounty hunter who operated in spirit of the values of the Black Sun syndicate.

"It's got to be a coincidence," he argues. "They've got operatives all over the galaxy. That crate could have changed hands a few times."

Hera frowns, recalling her daughter's stories of her former friend. It was odd that a gift from her arrived in the same shipment bearing the same insignia, but then again she'd helped them before by pointing out the location of the Yost System.

"We've got to find Ketsu Onyo," Kanan asserts, and hopes it's not a dead end lead.

-0-

"Caleb, it's my turn," the little girl insisted, stomping her foot to demonstrate her impatience.

The impulsive young man, only recently assigned to his master, laughed as their makeshift swing reached the top of its arc. The branch supporting him creaked, but did not break.

It's exhilarating to get out into the outdoors after months of being cooped up in the temple on Coruscant. Or, rather, what was _left_ of it. The jedi stronghold had been the victim of an arson attack, which had caused their population to scatter across the galaxy until a culprit could be found. He didn't like to think about the threat this posed; rather, he chose to relish his visit to Chalacta, a world he'd never been to and wouldn't have had to chance to see without the guidance of Depa Billaba.

They were currently staying at the home of her sister and fellow jedi, Sar Labooda, her husband and daughter. Caleb had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Saneetra was only a few months younger than him, for at her most annoying she reminded him of someone much younger. Nevertheless, they'd played together every day over the course of the past week, and had enjoyed almost every minute of it. He knew that they would soon have to leave this world on their next errand, but didn't want to think about it. His time was so often spent in form practice and history lessons, in meditation and contemplation. It was just refreshing to get to be a kid for a while.

"Once you start your training next year, you'll see what I mean about Master Windu," he said, launching himself out of the seat and landing in a squatting position in the dirt. Saneetra gratefully took up his post, and he scurried behind her. "He's so _serious_. I've never seen him smile."

They'd already discussed this topic in length; they planned to take their meals together and meditate alongside one another. Due to her father's interference, the force sensitive girl had never honed her skills, let alone seen the inside of a temple. This was all going to change, and neither could wait.

"I don't understand people like that. If I ever turn out sour, slap me upside the head," Saneetra requested, extending and bending her knees in an attempt to get some momentum going.

Caleb placed his hands on either shoulder and pushed, causing the swing to rise even higher. Rising over the fence on the back wall of the compound, the girl laughed, hair fighting its way out of her braids to flow behind her. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," he answered, not sure where this was going. She wasn't going to confess her _love_ for him, was she? Because they were both too young, and that would make hide and go seek with the other neighborhood kids awkward.

"You're my best friend," Saneetra confided, pumping her legs forward and backward. Caleb was so stunned that he nearly forgot to push her the next time around.

Did he have plenty of friends at the temple? Sure, but none understood him like Sar's daughter. Depa had taught him that attachments were a dangerous thing to have, that they could be used against one in manipulation, but he just didn't know how to stop caring for people. So he had to tell her the truth. "You're my best friend too."

From behind him, a door slid open and a dark skinned woman stepped out into the grass. Caleb couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his master out of her robes; nevertheless, she looked regal and dignified, as she always did.

"It's time for the evening meal," she announced in a conversational tone, never one to raise her voice unless it was absolutely necessary. Then she was gone back through the door, most likely to help her sister set the table.

An afternoon playing in the sun had brought forth their appetites. Saneetra dug her heels into the dirt, coming to an abrupt stop. Her friend didn't move, however, and seemed awfully interested about what was on the horizon. "You won't forget about me when you go back to the temple, will you?"

This time he looked her directly in the eyes, joy radiant. "Saneetra Billaba, I don't think I could ever forget you."

Satisfied, she turned towards the house. Caleb mirrored her bent over posture, one foot in front of the other. Racing to the porch had become their little routine, as they were almost evenly matched in speed. She counted to three and they were off, heels teasing the grass, laughing all the way.

-0-

It is long after midnight when Kanan comes to bed. He doesn't bother to turn the lights on in the cabin; rather, he takes his practiced route to the hamper and peels off his day clothes. Once he is satisfied with his nightly routine, he approaches the bedside and crawls in beside Hera, smiling as she rolls over to give him space.

She hasn't been resting for more than a few minutes, for her daughter's condition had demanded her attention. Hera had come in to tell her about their excursion. She had taken it all in with quiet acquiescence, only really perking up at the mention of Ketsu. Again, Sabine confirmed what they already knew: while the bounty hunter's motives were questionable, she did have compassionate moments. If she'd sent the faulty grenades, why would she bother to include a gift if that would only arouse suspicion? Any way they looked at it, it would be wise to seek her out.

"Feeling any better?" He asks, gingerly stroking her brow. She glances up, admiring his shirtless form, and offers a somnolent smile in response. The first night after the accident had been hard, and they'd both wept until sleep overtook them. But they had to put on brave faces-for the rest of the crew, the pilots, each other. _For Sabine._

"I've talked with our Outer Rim informants. You'll never guess where the latest reports place our friend Ketsu," he says, all the while running his fingers up her bare arm.

Hera sits bolt upright in bed. Her grimace indicates that she likely already knows what he's about to say, but she doesn't want to believe it. They couldn't be doing this _again_. "Bespin?" She questions rhetorically.

He sits up alongside her, nodding gravely. "All within the twenty-four hours. If we hurry, we might be able to catch her."

Their twi'lek pilot simply couldn't believe what she was hearing. The crew's morale was at an all time low; they were in no condition to fly. Nevertheless, she knew what had to be done, for the sake of her daughter and the rebellion.

"We can leave in the morning. I recommend we take Ezra, Zeb, and Chopper." Whenever the captain suggested anything, it really wasn't a recommendation in so many words, but a demand. But since she and Kanan were partners in more ways that one, she saw it fit to run her decision past him.

"And Sabine," he adds, noting the stricken expression on his lover's face.

She shakes her head violently, lekku swaying with the momentum. "I'm not putting her in danger again, love. She's not even halfway healed yet. It's too soon."

Carefully Kanan reaches out to her and brings her down to the blanket, facing him so their noses are only inches apart. "Hera, she knows Ketsu better than anybody, and you know that. We can station her in her quarters, and if all is fine _and_ her friend is innocent _and_ actually willing to help us, maybe they can talk. And if _not_ …" He trails off, bringing his hand to curve around the small of her back. "We know our girl. She doesn't like to sit still for long."

As much as Hera's maternal instincts were at war with this amendment, she has to admit he was right. She inhales slowly then exhales, expelling a tentative, "Alright."

He nods and settles further down into the pillow, relishing the feeling of her warm body beside him. It felt familiar. It felt _right_.

After all this time, she could almost feel the soothing energy flowing off of him. No matter how far she traveled in the galaxy or deviated from the trodden path, it was _this_ that always brought her home.

Safe in the arms of the man she loved and cautiously optimistic about what was to come, Hera soon drifts off to sleep.

 _(to be continued)_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey, we're halfway done! Thanks for the support.

Next time: Some planning and some commisserating, on both sides.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Five**

The New Seeker has very few memories of her days in the Chalactan Adepts, but what she does remember was forever seared in her mind.

The Temple of Illumination was a grand building on a plain outside the capital city, full of wind and light. In the days the woman known as Saneetra Billaba had stayed there, it was a popular choice for civilians, scholars, and military men alike. The techniques taught by the philosophical order of mystics made one immune to mental and physical torture, something that would prove to be very useful in her exploits with the force.

In that time, she'd just settled down in her primary care practice and spent her days examining her patients for any latent force sensitivity. If she happened to stumble across one, the personal details would be passed on to her fellow members of the Inquisitorius and the child would often be stolen from their homes in the dead of night. What happened to them after that didn't necessarily concern her, though she always expected they were exterminated.

She'd gone to fulfill an order, but had wound up getting closer to the spirit of her mother. The jedi known as Sar Labooda had died in battle when she was thirteen. All they ever had to remember her by was a cloak bored through by blaster fire and her lightsaber, carved with ancient Chalactan runes detailing the tenets of the Adepts. It had been one of the few things Saneetra had stolen from their keepsakes as their family home burned. As she made her way down the corridor, dodging falling timbers and coughing into her sleeve, she'd spotted her father's fallen body just outside his bedroom. He lay face down in the floor paneling, and his clothes were burned beyond recognition. She could have checked to see if he was alive. If he was, she could have _saved_ him. Rather, she turned and dashed down the staircase, meeting her new master at the front door.

Her days were filled with meditation and rumination over the origins of the universe, but at night while the other pupils slept she retired to the fields and battled an unseen enemy, the saber's green reflecting in her eyes. She was formally trained in The Way of the Mynock, as was Darth Vader's preference, but gradually shifted to Form VI in honor of her mother. Later, she outfitted the saber with two horizontal projections that would expand and connect together upon activation, so as to create coherence between herself and the rest of the Inquisitors. The spin and red color were only ever activated behind closed doors; on the oft occasion she could do so, she enjoyed sparring with her peers. Saneetra had been initiated behind a female Mirialan and a male Terellian Jango Jumper, making her the Ninth Sister of the Inquisitorius.

The feeling of the saber in her hand was indescribable. In her youth, she'd felt so sheltered, so silent, so _weak_. Now, she was powerful beyond words.

In the present day, the New Seeker was already looking forward to putting an end to Caleb's life. Every time she thought of him, she saw a bright eyed twelve-year-old, so indoctrinated into the ways of the jedi that he couldn't see he was being lead down a wrong path. All this time, he hadn't realized that the way of humanity was to allow themselves to be controlled by those in a position of power. He pursued the fruitless goal of rebellion. _And he had forgotten her._

-0-

"I'm reading one Mandalorian signature," Hera says as they sit docked at one of the station's auxiliary arms, receiving a briefing for the mission ahead. "They're in the main section, whoever they are."

Sabine sat quietly in the copilot's seat, a blanket draped across her lap. She was following her mother's lips out of the corner of her eye, her attention mostly on her own console. The medic had been somewhat hesitant to let her out of his sight, but had eventually complied on the assumption that she would take it easy. The warrior had already been bandaged up to high heaven, but Hera had gone a step further and wrapped one of her headscarves around her scalp to hide most of them. That morning she had taken her first tentative steps with her brothers at either side, adjusting to the loss of equilibrium the accident had brought forth. Now her feet felt so heavy and the floor tilted under her every step, but she would grow to get used to it. She had no other choice.

"What are the odds it's Ketsu?" Ezra wonders out loud, leaning against the back of his sister's chair. She immediately lifts her head and looks over her shoulder, only catching the last part of the question. Then when Kanan spoke, her chin whipped around to gaze up at him. It was like a game where a ball was being hit back and forth, but more urgent.

"Pretty good," he confirms, watching the screen as the life sign begins to move. "Hera and Zeb, you two should check out the landing dock in case she decides to bolt. I'll take Ezra to the promenade. Does that sound good to you, Captain?"

The corners of her lips twitch at the formal address. "Yes. Everyone remember that we're here on recon. No explosions, no sabers, no life or death confrontations-"

"You're no fun," Zeb teases, propping his bow rifle against the wall. He tucks the proffered weapon into his belt.

Hera turns to her daughter. "Sabine, we need you to stay here and keep an eye on things. Chopper will be your ears. Under no circumstances are you to leave this ship. Do you understand?"

The girl nods, saying, "Don't worry about me." Her words are slurred, but decipherable.

Barely hiding her grimace, she turns her attention to the two force sensitives in the room. "And you two. I expect you back here in one hour's time, whether you've found Ketsu or not."

Kanan mock salutes. The droid warbles, his mechanical arms indicating his assent. And with that, they're dismissed, but before Kanan leaves the room, he draws his lover in for a long kiss. It had become their tradition, ever since Malachor. They never knew when one of them wouldn't return from a mission.

His apprentice averts his eyes, patting his sister's shoulder. She responds by winking at him and pulling the blanket to one side, revealing the blaster hidden in her lap.

Some things never changed.

-0-

Half an hour later, Kanan and Ezra sit in the outpost's mess hall nursing their drinks. It was less of a cafeteria and more like a cantina, if the low lighting and boisterous sabacc games at every other table were any indication. From the _Ghost_ to the promenade to there, they had seen enough to know that this wasn't exactly a place one would go on vacation. Shady looking drifters and opportunistic thieves lurk around every corner, and the air is filled with an amalgamation of every unpleasant scent imaginable. It was the kind of place the Empire wouldn't deign to inspect, and that was why they'd chosen it for their trading ventures. It was also the perfect place to hide.

Kanan takes a sip of his Corellian brandy, cuts a glance to either side, and then passes it to the young man at his right. The pounding music and heady smoke is enough to give him a headache, so he didn't want to think what kind of state a less conditioned force sensitive might be in. Ezra accepts the cup with wide eyed innocence, acknowledging Kanan's silent demand that he not tell his mother. He then proceeds to sit back and almost drain the contents.

It wasn't as if he hadn't had liquor before-he and Sabine were known to filch some alcohol from the pilots and sit in her bunk, passing the bottle back and forth to forget their worries for a while- but he'd never had something this _strong_. He begins to cough and sputter immediately, which quickly drew the attention of their fellow patrons.

The jedi raises a placating hand to the partygoers, slapping his son heartily on the back until he recovers. Once Ezra quieted down, he hisses, "This is _exactly_ why children shouldn't have alcohol."

Ezra was indignant to this statement. "I'm not a child anymore, dad. Next Empire Day I'll be-"

"You'll always be _kid_ to me," he interrupts, staring down the sliver of liquid at the bottom of his cup. Or at least that's how it appears. "Don't look now, but an old friend is in our midst."

He doesn't look down to study the reflection in the mug as his master had, but instead turns around in his seat to discover that Ketsu Onyo is sitting alone a few tables away. What with her shaved head and decorated armor, she's difficult to miss.

"I told you not to look!" Kanan chastises, directing his gaze forward.

But it seemed that it was too late; behind them, the bounty hunter smiles knowingly and saunters over, sitting opposite from them. "Fancy seeing the two of you here. I hope this seat's not taken."

The young man had to suppress the irrational surge of anger he felt at her self-assurance. It was possible that she'd arranged for the deliver of the faulty grenades and was only here to gloat that she'd gotten away with it, or perhaps she didn't have anything to do with it. After all he'd been through, especially after Maul's deception, Ezra had a hard time giving anyone the benefit of the doubt.

"By all means," Kanan says, tipping his glass to her. "What brings you to this sector, Ketsu?"

She smirks, being sure to make eye contact with both of them. "A little business, a little pleasure. A stiff drink or two. What about the two of you?"

"We've come seeking information. There was an accident on our base, and it originated from the last shipment we received from here."

The bounty hunter clicks her tongue and takes a luxuriant sip of her drink. Then she crosses her arms and leans back, checking her surroundings. "Then for your sake, I hope it wasn't serious." Above Ezra's head, she makes eye contact with someone that interests her, winks and waves.

 _That was it._ He stood up, slapping his hand on the table and leaning across it to get her attention. She flinches, but holds a neutral expression. "Sabine's deaf now because of it. I suggest you start caring a little for other people besides yourself."

Her features contorts into the strangest mixture of grief and surprise either had ever seen. It is enough for Kanan to discern that she wasn't their culprit, but he decides to push things a little further.

"You have two options. You either help us find out who did it and clear your name, or you don't. If not, know that we will not hesitate to follow you from one end of the galaxy to the other until we learn the truth. And I promise you, the second option will not end well for you." In the position they were in, he was not above making threats.

Ketsu appears to consider this, eyes wide with shock even though her lips were pressed in a firm line. Finally, she acts, leaning across the table to speak to them. "There's an unguarded access panel in a nearby section. With any luck, it should take us to the main computer core."

" _Us_?" Ezra echoes rhetorically.

She nods, pushing her chair back from the table. "Come on." The other two mirror this action and follow her out the door.

-0-

When Hera and Zeb return to the _Ghost_ , they are surprised to find a familiar face sitting at their table in the common room. Ketsu's posture is confrontational, but she doesn't make a move for the weapon strapped to her side. In her hand she holds a data chip, the holoprojector filled with static before her.

Kanan and Ezra sit to either side of her, looking somewhat distressed. Upon their arrival, Sabine had come out of the cockpit, saw that Ketsu was with them, and swept right past them to enter her quarters. It couldn't be that she was still angry at her former friend, for this was the second time she'd agreed to help them. Perhaps seeing who caused her accident was too much to bear.

They had scrolled through endless footage of surveillance until they found something extraordinarily suspicious in a sea of mildly suspicious things: two cloaked figures approach a tradesman, impart something onto him, and then switch out a crate with something from their own vessel. Just as quickly as they boarded, they were gone, leaving not a trace behind.

Hera recognizes the pirate who took the bribe as one of the few who would do business with the rebels, a faceless associate known only as a code name. But now she was formulating a plan to hunt him down mercilessly, hands clenched at her side.

"Wind it back and pause it when they turn to leave," Kanan orders, and Ketsu complies. From this vantage point, they can barely see one of them in profile, _horns and red and black skin…_

Ezra shuts his eyes tight and leans forward. It seemed that no matter how far he ran from his previous indiscretions, he could never escape Maul. The identity of his accomplice was still a mystery.

Suddenly Kanan stands up and paces to the other end of the room, where he pauses and slams a fist into the wall, cursing loudly. His apprentice senses what he feels, some residual energy of a face from the distant past.

"Contact Ahsoka on Atollon," he orders absently. "Let her know that we have some prime suspects and we'll be back before their sunset."

With a few silent nods dealt between them, the crew splits to their various duties. Ketsu, who had spent nearly a year evading the rebels' attempts to recruit her, quickly makes up her mind. "I'll lead the way in _Shadow Caster._ "

"Excuse me?" Kanan asks incredulously.

She stands and gestures towards the cockpit, towards open space and beyond. "I'm coming with you."

 _(to be continued)_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the delay! Thanks for all your support, as usual. By the way, in case it's not obvious, dialogue in italics is Sabine reading lips. I wanted to give some designation there.

Next time: Ketsu and Sabine try to come to an understanding. Also, the battle begins.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Six**

The lights are dimmed in Sabine's quarters as they skid down the landing strip at Chopper Base, shortly preceded by the _Shadow Caster_. She lays in her bunk in the fetal position, still in her civilian clothes from the day. Her blaster lays discarded at the bedside, just barely sticking out underneath the blanket. Just because she can't hear anyone approach doesn't mean she wants to stop defending herself if the need arises.

If she presses her knees against the wall, she can feel the machinery in the engine compartment grinding away. The adjacent chamber is soundproofed for their comfort, so she's never noticed it before. The tiniest vibrations in her surroundings now stood out to her. Recycled air tumbles out of the vent in the ceiling, causing gooseflesh to erupt on her exposed skin. Two pairs of footsteps come down the hall and fade with increasing distance. She feels it with the beating of her heart, with the thrum of blood in her head. It is all she has.

The sight of Ketsu at the table in the common room brought back a flood of memories, not all of them unpleasant. For the longest time at the academy on Mandalore, she'd been her only friend. She closed her eyes and there they were, skipping out on kitchen duty and sneaking around after curfew. Eventually they had taken the plunge. That was when everything changed.

During their partnership, Sabine had fought to eliminate any signs of weakness, lest other bounty hunters doubt the credibility of their cell. But then they started making money, and Ketsu had gotten greedy.

As much as she wanted to be optimistic about a person's motives, experience had proven that she should do the opposite. To Sabine, vulnerability was a cursed thing, and only allowed people to take advantage of her. She wasn't above begging for help when the wellbeing of her friends were on the line; for _herself_ was another matter entirely.

Her parents were angry. That was plain enough to see, especially for her father. If Kanan were to come across the Chalactan woman again, there was no doubt he would kill her in vindication. She knew enough about the jedi code to determine that this wasn't the accepted way, but they'd never been traditionalists anyway. Mother was a little harder to read, and Ahsoka only projected grief and a weird brand of acceptance on which she didn't care to dwell. Ezra was working double time to reign in his rage, for it was precisely that that put him under Maul's influence in the first place. And she, after a period of mourning that she considered self indulgent, was gradually growing to accept this new reality.

That left one member of their crew unaccounted for. On his way to bed for the night, Zeb stops outside her door, one fist curled in lieu of a knock. He hesitates a second too long. From within comes the imploring reminder: "I can _feel_ you standing there."

 _Karabast_. Perhaps Kanan and Ezra weren't the only force sensitives on board. But then again he had seen his brothers in arms develop heightened senses after accidents, one even creating a new kind of bow rifle defense after losing an arm. He wasn't surprised. Sabine was skilled at everything she put her mind to.

Zeb had always been a solitary warrior; such was the life of a captain in the honor guard. Though he had been known to keep a few lovers, he never married and never really had close relationships with anyone. That is, until he joined the crew of the _Ghost_.

After the initial distrust had worn off, Kanan and Hera became like his siblings. All of his brothers and sisters were long since dead in the decimation of Lasan, so their camaraderie was comforting. It was plain to see that the two of them were romantically involved, but they never made Zeb feel excluded. On one occasion when they'd allowed themselves to get tipsy following the successful completion of a mission, he swept Hera off her feet just outside the cantina and carried her as he ran down the block, laughing all the way. Kanan had followed closely, waving his fists and gasping around his own mirth that he ought not to put his paws on the merchandise.

Then a headstrong fifteen-year-old Sabine Wren had joined the crew. There was no need to tread carefully around her, for she was as strong as any human male and could tell tales with the best of them. Irrationally, Zeb took a liking to her. She reminded him of his youngest sister Leena, whose grammar school had been one of the first buildings bombed in the siege that destroyed their world.

His first reaction to the accident was to hunt down whoever did this to Sabine and beat them senseless, to get revenge for the light that had fled from the girl's eyes. But he wasn't a brute... _not anymore_. Her sorrow hung over all of them like a raincloud. He wanted nothing more than to dissipate it.

Upon him entering the room, Sabine rolls over and reaches for him. He complies, squatting by the bedside to take her hand. She smiles; he dishes up his trademark lopsided grin.

" _How ya doin', kid?_ " He asks, making sure to emphasize each word.

She follows his lips with her eyes and nods. "I've been better."

Now _that_ was the understatement of the century. Just a year ago he might have left it at that, for Zeb was never good in emotional situations, but now he knew what had to be done.

Pulling away from her grasp, Zeb draws himself up to full height. " _Can you stand up?_ "

Silently she complies, reaching for his biceps as the floor tilts beneath her. The blood roars in her ears and her knees almost give out underneath her. Sabine's voice is slurred with drowsiness and disorientation: "Where are we going?"

It takes some time to make their way down the corridor and exit the _Ghost_. She clings onto his arm for dear life; fortunately, they do not run into anyone on their way to the fringes of the base.

Sabine squats in the dust and gazes up to the starlit sky. The sun has just set, and Atollon's three moons were just cresting over the horizon. It is going to be completely dark soon, and that terrifies her.

Meanwhile, Zeb finds two discarded lengths of pipe in a nearby rubbish heap and makes his way over to her, slapping the shorter one into her hands. She looks down at it incredulously.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

He takes a few steps back out of her line of sight; she follows him with her eyes, afraid to lose sight of him in the rapidly dwindling light. Once that happened, it was all over. " _Just because you're injured doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to make best use of it. Now close your eyes and I'm going to come at you. Counterattack before I can strike._ "

She appears dubious. "Zeb, this isn't a good idea. I can barely walk straight, let alone spar with you."

" _Trust me_ ," he encourages, " _Now close your eyes._ "

And so she obeys, and the world plunges into darkness. The air around her is fairly crackling with electricity, and she is keenly aware of his presence stepping around behind her. It's not difficult. His paws are heavy and shake the ground wherever he places them. The feeling travels across the sand and to her own feet, which shoot up the length of her body to let her know that he's at her left side, improvised weapon held aloft.

Much to her surprise, she meets his blow with plenty of time to spare. Briefly she opens her eyes and is rewarded with a thumbs up as he turns out of the impact. A little more confident now, Sabine shifts to face another direction and focuses on the ground vibrating beneath her, the pipe whistling through the air and her hands clasped together.

Their next engagement lasts several blows, until Zeb has to take a step back to parry away her charge. What she lacked in brute strength she made up for in speed and agility, something in which he was severely lacking due to his size. All the while her eyes are closed.

Eventually a smile begins to tug at the corners of her lips. They carry on like this for several minutes, both taking turns being on the offensive and defensive. After one particularly daring move, Sabine's balance falters. She trips over an exposed rock and stumbles into him, grabbing great handfuls of his fur.

The tears are immediate, her confidence all but broken. Zeb doesn't hesitate to lift her off her feet and allow her to wrap her arms around his shoulders, relishing in the comfort that only family could provide.

"You did it. You were doing well," he assures her. Sabine doesn't understand him, but the rumble of his chest and the way he strokes her back tell her that it's something soothing. After the first night she'd locked her tears away, but here they were again with a vengeance. She needed time to adjust. She needed time to _mourn_.

"I'm always proud of you," Zeb says, and means it.

-0-

"It's time," the Old Master announces the second night after their operation. New Seeker sits cross legged on the floor of her temporary quarters in meditation, and barely reacts to his voice.

Slowly, she stands, testing the weight of her saber in her hands. Caleb's insipid face dances behind her eyes, giving purpose to what she's about to do.

"I'm ready," she confirms, pushing past him into the cockpit.

-0-

While Zeb and Sabine are fighting across the desert, several other members of the crew meet in the nerve center of the base to discuss their next steps.

Ahsoka and Hera stand at the opposite end of the holoprojector, mimicking each other's postures with arms crossed. Both listen intently as Ketsu relays what she's seen to Kanan, knowing full well that whatever she says could change the course of their mission.

"I didn't know jedi were in the practice of holding grudges," she remarks after he interrupts to fill her in on Malachor and his relationship with Saneetra. Now she understands why they were determined to resolve this on their own rather than get the authorities involved.

"Saneetra _isn't_ a jedi. She's a dangerous rogue that's allowing her anger to cloud her judgment." Ahsoka had left the order long ago, but she wasn't about to let that woman besmirch the reputation of the men and women who trained her.

The bounty hunter frowns, forming a steeple with her fingertips in front of her lips. "So her motive is specifically to kill _you_ -" She gestures to Kanan. "-to get some retribution for her mother being killed in battle. It follows that this Maul is helping her because two are more powerful than one. If you're dead, he can easily take your apprentice as his own."

That was about the gist of it. Hera reaches forward and activates the projection. The security footage of the pair fleeing the station appears. "We believe Sabine's accident was collateral damage to pull us out of hiding. Either that, or they were hoping several would detonate in the cargo hold and the entire base would go up in flames. Whatever the case may be, they're probably waiting for us to make the next move."

"I don't see how we could. We have a vague trajectory of where they might be due to their orientation as they jumped into hyperspace, but we don't know much more than that." Ketsu moves to one side to allow Kanan to push past her. He clenches and unclenches his fists as if he wants to say something, then begins to pace.

After a few laps, he makes eye contact with Ahsoka and stops in his tracks. "It feels as if she's taunting me. I can't explain it any way other than that. This is all a game of dejarik to her. Human lives are just pawns to get to me. By going easy on her, I'm putting all of you in danger." His stricken expression was enough to determine that he couldn't stand the idea. "I know how Saneetra operates, trust me. And I know she's going to strike first."

The rest of them take this all in, coming to a realization that their fragile semblance of calm was about to be shattered. Hera says, "I'll contact Commander Sato up in the air."

Her loyalty, as always, is unwavering.

"I'll rouse the ground troops," Ahsoka confirms.

Kanan offers them each a grim smile, knowing full well that Ezra would be up for a round two. Before he can leave the room, however, Ketsu brushes past him into the corridor.

"I'm going to speak with Sabine," she asserts, her voice almost out of earshot.

 _(to be continued)_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Attack of the wicked cliffhangers! Speaking of which, did everyone see the season three trailer? I'm super psyched about Thrawn, Pre Vizsla's saber...well, pretty much everything.

Next time: The battle for Atollon begins not with a whimper, but a bang.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Seven**

Truth be told, it takes Ketsu more than an hour to work up the nerve to enter the _Ghost_. She stands in the shadow of the loading dock, watching the moons rise above the horizon. At some point, a hulking Lasat passes her without really looking in her direction, carrying something clutched to her chest. Finally she realizes that the shape must have been a person, and surmises it must have been Sabine.

Later on, the apprentice goes to bed, his clothes strained from perspiration. As he steps through the open hatch, he sheaths his saber and sighs deeply, having spent a few hours working off some steam in the desert. Ketsu convinces herself that she's waiting for the perfect moment to break the tension between them that's been building over the course of many years. She waits, but none of her three companions exit the base, and a sign never comes.

Sabine is dozing off when she's suddenly shaken awake by the sensation of the walls of her cabin shaking minutely. Only one thing could have caused such a tremor. Reaching over her shoulder to turn the overhead lights up to fifty percent, she calls out, "Come in."

Truthfully, she expects it to be Hera. The pilot's always taken great care to tuck her children into bed every night when their mission allowed it, even though they were both nearly adults in their own right. The night before had been no exception. Laying on her stomach and propping one elbow in her mother's lap so her can press two fingers to her throat, Sabine had relished a familiar Rylothian lullaby. It was necessary that she memorize the melody before she forgot it entirely. All the while, Hera had stroked the space between her shoulder blades, only leaving when she was good and sure that her daughter was asleep.

Instead she's treated to the presence of a former friend, who can't seem to hide her anxiety behind a ramrod straight spine and a stony facial expression. After all their years together, Sabine knew Ketsu like her own mind. And she was wringing her hands and choosing her steps extremely carefully. "They've decided to have the troops stand at the ready just in case we're looking at an invasion."

Sighing deeply, Sabine throws back the covers and sits on the edge of her bunk, feeling incredibly exposed in nothing but her sleep clothes. But after all the trouble she'd gone through to prove herself trustworthy to the rebels, Ketsu was at least _partly_ credible. That, and her blaster was mere inches from her feet should she need it.

"You're gonna have to slow down, Ketsu. I'm not that good at reading lips yet," she says, turning the lights up to full brightness for good measure.

Stiffly and somewhat awkwardly, the bounty hunter makes her way over to the bedside and sits next to Sabine. Once she's sure that she's got her attention, she repeats her statement and continues: " _Phoenix Home is en route from Wild Space, but won't be in the system for another thirty-six hours. Once they're here, we'll have reliable air support._ "

 _We_? Since when did Ketsu count herself among their ranks? Of course there had been a few times she's hoped that she could stop fearing for her life and the bounty on her head, but they were few and far between. Her rival's moments of compassion were brief and far between.

"Well, thanks for letting me know," she answers. Before Ketsu can stop herself, a grimace spreads across her lips. Sabine's voice was an octave higher than normal, strained, but still carried all of the sarcastic affectations.

She reaches for Sabine's hand, not hesitating when she attempts to pull away. " _Listen, I only came here to help because of you. Whether you realize it or not, little sister, I still care about you._ "

Did her eyes deceive, or was that the nickname she hadn't heard for _years_?

"I'm glad. For a moment I thought you might have been trying to _kill_ me."

Ketsu clenches down with her fingers. " _Cool it with the sarcasm. Can't you see that I'm trying to apologize?_ "

The other girl disengages and clambers to her feet. "You could have fooled me. Besides, I'm never going to forgive you, not _ever_ , for leaving me for dead in that escape pod in open space. I've seen you at your worst, your most heartless. As far as I'm concerned, you're just as bad as the imperials."

They were now at an impasse. Outside the four walls, the entire base was preparing for a battle that could end everything they'd been working for. Perhaps they only have a day left as a team before disaster struck. _One day_ , and they were still arguing about the past. But that last statement made Ketsu's blood run cold.

She was _nothing_ like them. They killed, pillaged and burned to suit their whims; she killed, _yes_ , but for a purpose. For morals, for tradition... _for a paycheck._

" _I'm not asking for your forgiveness, Sabine. I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. The fact is that I'm shifting my priorities. It can't be all about me all the time. It's got to be about something bigger than me, than you, than the two of us-I'm joining your rebels not just because I hate the Empire as much as the next person, but because I've never seen you so fulfilled. And if a life of hiding and covert operations is good enough for Sabine Wren, it's good enough for me._ "

Sabine was still trying to process all she said. Absently, she reaches for the scarf covering her scalp and pulls it to one side, revealing the network of cuts and bruises. Ketsu takes it all in silently, gaze pausing over the space where one ear used to be. " _Please give me another chance,_ " she implores, " _You were my only friend_."

"Things have changed," Sabine replies; it comes out more harshly than anticipated.

 _So they have._ Ketsu clasps her hands together, searching for the right words. She finds them: " _I still care for you like a sister. I'll do anything for you._ "

It's an egregious hyperbole; even she isn't sure that she means it. But she's given little time to think about it. Sabine kneels down and retrieves her blaster, placing it in Ketsu's hands.

"Prove it."

-0-

"It's going to be a long night," Lieutenant Snayder says as he plops down in his seat in the command center of Chopper Base. Normally he would be asleep as this hour, but orders from Captain Syndulla had shaken him from his bed. The twi'lek was a tough leader, but fair, and he didn't want to disappoint her.

Next to him, his Rodian companion warbles assent in his native language. Together they sat with the viewscreen trained towards the open desert, turret guns activated should they spot anything suspicious. Normally these were only used to take pot shots at dokma who broke through the barricades in search of their next meal, but now there was a serious threat of invasion by old enemies of their resident jedi.

Lieutenant Mishala, formerly of Naboo, nods and bends over the sensor readings that have just come in. She's a olive-skinned woman just out of her teen years who wears her dark hair tied at the base of her neck, having long since abandoned the traditional headdress of her world for a pilot's helmet. The newly designated Phoenix Six had been with the rebels for all of nine months, and already felt way in over her head. There was just so much to learn-which pirates to trade with, and which to shoot on sight, for example-and it didn't help that she held her current position due to the untimely death of her preceptor some months ago.

Dicer was a soft spoken Coruscanti woman with a kind word for everyone, and had really made her feel welcome. They had been roommates, and sparring partners. It was Dicer that had taught her how to fly offensively, unlike her former training in commercial airflight. Unfortunately, she'd been taken by a krykna to its underground lair and never seen again.

Her disappearance left a hole in the otherwise tight knit community of Phoenix pilots, who numbered several dozen under Captain Syndulla's direction. They didn't fly every mission due to health concerns; it was not uncommon for more than half to return home wounded or worse, but rather a handful of them stayed at Chopper Base at all times. It wasn't an exciting designation, but a comfortable one.

Suddenly Mishala curses and leans back in her chair. Lieutenant Snayder turns a curious eye to her, and she says, "A beacon's just gone out along our eastern border."

He clicks his tongue, then reaches under the console to retrieve her helmet. She catches it in midair. It was their practice that whoever spotted the discrepancy would be the one to correct it. This prevented any one of them from getting too comfortable in their seats.

"Take my speeder," he calls over his shoulder, "We'll keep the light on for you."

She was always surprised at how dark the nights are on Atollon. Once she's out of view from the overhead lights, the darkness is all consuming, as there's no civilization for miles in any direction. There's an outpost of lookouts on the southern continent, but she doubted they were awake at this hour considering the planet's tilt put them at several hours ahead. It's cold in the desert with the absence of the sun beating down on one's shoulders, an inexplicable chill that cut right through her uniform. Irrationally, Mishala begins to feel ill at ease.

At last she arrives at the malfunctioning beacon. Fortunately, there's no krykna around, but she places a portable unit near her feet just in case. She soon locates the problem: a faulty circuit. The tool kit comes open, the helmet comes off, and she begins to remedy the situation.

Somewhere behind her, she thinks she hears someone call her name. Whipping around, she calls out, "Who's there?"

Predictably, the answer is no one. Just opacity as far as the eye can see. Shaking her head and chiding herself for being so foolish, she bends down to her work, hands moving twice as fast as they were previously.

She connects the two new electrodes and shoves them back into the control panel, reaching to flip the switch. When she does, the entire arc of beacons goes out in either direction.

Her heart leaps to her throat, as she's now in almost complete darkness and the krykna could easily attack at any moment. They never found Dicer's body, and perhaps for good reason.

Overhead comes a brief flash of light; a breeze tousles her hair. Seconds later she hears boots on the compacted sand, nearing ever so closer. She doesn't need any more encouragement. Reaching for her comlink, Lieutenant Mishala prepares to notify her brothers in arms back at the base.

When Lieutenant Snayder opens the transmission, the only thing he hears is the whir of a light saber followed by a muffled gasp as the young woman falls to the ground.

 _(to be continued)_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Two more chapters! Wow, where has the time gone? At the end I finally get to use a Tumblr trope that I've been thinking about for months!

Next time: Three unforgettable duels. Someone gets their final revenge.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Eight**

It takes less than a minute for the lieutenants on duty to send a reconnaissance team equipped with blasters to investigate the failed transmission, and less than three for the _Ghost_ crew to be shaken from their beds.

Hera is the first to arrive, followed by Kanan, who is still struggling into his armor. They'd just barely dozed off in their shared quarters when the alarm sounded, and she'd nearly crushed him in her efforts to climb over him and reach the closet. Kanan was mere moments in a dream about flashes of red in the darkness... _seething rage...the screaming of his apprentice…_

"They're never going to make it back," Hera says grimly, referring to the recently departed patrol. She didn't have to be force sensitive to feel the tension in the air.

Ahsoka is next to arrive, a little unsteady on her feet. She'd long since adjusted her balance to the missing montral, but her leg brace had only come off in the past few weeks. Crossing the room with several broad strides, she removes the sabers from the crook of her arm and stows them in the holsters on opposite sides of her hips. "Status on _Phoenix Home?_ "

The wide eyed lieutenant- _Snayder, Kanan thinks_ -glances down at his console. "Twenty-eight hours."

"Better have them push it," Zeb remarks, emerging from the corridor with Rex in tow. The expression the young man gives them lets them all know that he's already asked them to do _just that_ , and he was terrified of dying at the hands of these intruders.

She sighs, squaring her shoulders and preparing to dole out orders. A quick glance to Kanan confirms that he's thinking the same thing. "We'll wipe them out with one swift attack. Saneetra is vulnerable and can be taken down more easily than last time. Kanan, Ahsoka, and Ezra will accompany me to the border. Rex and Zeb, we need you to stay here and guard the base with the pilots. Keep an eye out just in case they have reinforcements coming."

The lasat and the clone appear somewhat dismayed to be taken out of their first real firefight in months, but nod smartly. Ezra scrambles in and almost slips, only to have Zeb grab hold of his collar and pull him to his feet. He's breathing hard, struggling to get the words out.

"She wants to come with us," he gasps, doubling over. "I told her she can't, it's _impossible_ , but-"

None had to ask who he referred to, for in the next moment Sabine made an appearance, dressed in her civilian clothes with a blaster in one hand. "I'm coming with you," she declares with such frightening conviction that for a second no one wants to correct her.

"Out of the question," Hera says, "You haven't healed. You'll be staying on the _Ghost_."

The fingers on her free hand clench and unclench as she processes this. Her reply is plaintive: "Please, mom. She's taken away my _life_. I have to- _I've got to-_ "

" _I'm not going to watch you die!_ " Captain Syndulla exclaims, her voice an octave higher than normal. The background chatter all but dies in the room; even the Rodian attendant stops his warbling. Sabine steps back; she can feel the emotion in her voice. Finally, she bridges the gap between them, drawing her daughter into her arms. Through the network of the girl's fingers on her lips, she continues, "This is about keeping you safe. I'm sorry, Sabine, but you're not coming with us."

"She's not, but I am." Having something to prove, Ketsu materializes seemingly out of nowhere, stepping over the threshold and relieving her friend of the blaster.

The bounty hunter ignored the incredulous look from Ezra and made direct eye contact with Kanan, whose expression was mercifully blank. "I've got a score to settle."

-0-

The procession of the three speeders across the desert is completely silent. They roar towards the eastern border with Kanan in the lead, his lightsaber held aloft like a lantern to the night. Ezra sits behind him, his hands wrapped around his waist for stability. They don't even need to discuss it-he can sense the boy's unease, and feel his shaking.

He doesn't blame the boy. The closer they grew to confrontation, the more the space behind his cybernetics throbbed, recalling a moment when nothing had been there at all. His mind was working a mile a minute. Every part of him wanted to end this once and for all, striking down Saneetra where she stood. But this was not the jedi way, and seeking revenge had never been his personal philosophy. Right now, his first priority would be to protect his family...or so he kept telling himself.

Two vertical beams of light cut through the darkness. They arrived in visual range just in time for Maul to cut down the last of their patrol. Spinning on his heels, he reached out with one hand, fingers twitching minutely.

Ketsu's speeder suddenly increases speed, the engine working overtime to keep up. Before any of them can react, it lurches sideways, sending itself and its occupant careening across the sand. Tucking her arms into her torso, the bounty hunter tries to get out of the way of the rolling speeder, but is unfortunately pulled underneath it by another flick of the Dathomirian's wrist.

Ahsoka doesn't even wait for Hera to stop the vehicle. She runs a few steps before dropping to her knees, unsheathing both sabers, and rising into flawless Form V starting position. "Maul!" The togruta shouts, issuing a personal challenge.

For the most part he ignores this, instead focusing on the young man dismounting the speeder. "Ah, my apprentice has arrived."

Ezra takes in the sight of the older man, bent over and haggard yet drunk with misused power. The idea of abandoning his father is simply appalling to him; he couldn't believe there was ever a time he considered joining the dark side. He has to step over several fallen pilots to reach him, activating his saber as he goes. Assuming the defensive position, he all but backs up to Ahsoka. "I'll die before I become your apprentice."

"That can be arranged," Maul replies, and charges.

In the meantime Hera runs over to their fallen companion, who is breathing through clenched teeth to keep from crying out. With the sum of their strength, the women manage to push the speeder to one side, forming a makeshift shield. This time Ketsu actually does release a howl of pain, which is quickly strangled off by biting her lip. "Are you alright?" Hera asks, somewhat rhetorically.

"My leg," she gasps. Her armor from hip to feet appears to have been crushed like a piece of paper; there was little doubt that something was broken. Above their heads, Ezra cries out as Maul swipes him across the face, leaving a criss-crossed addition to the scars already there. Without another word, Hera pulls Ketsu into a sitting position and places a blaster in her hand. The two women make eye contact, concern turning into steely resolve.

Seeing as Ezra and Ahsoka are otherwise engaged, Kanan draws his saber and steps toward the second cloaked figure. Her stature, the way she carries herself, still reminds him so much of Depa. But then Saneetra turns to face him.

One side of her face is mangled beyond recognition, half-healed scars leading into an empty eye socket and a permanent scowl. The Lesser Mark of Illumination still stands out on the bridge of her nose, what's left of her hair pulled back into looped Chalactan braids. As he watches, she lifts her saber and activates the spin, creating a circle of light in the air.

"How did you find us here?" He demands.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ezra narrowly avoids decapitation at the hands of Maul, bending backward nearly in half to dodge his blow. Ahsoka lunges between them, disrupting his balance and causing both to stumble outside the circle of the barricade.

"You're not the only ones who can access the security footage on that base," she answers, nonchalantly deflecting a volley of blaster fire from the two women huddled behind the speeder.

Kanan holds up a hand, urging them to stop. One perfectly aimed reciprocation could blow them to high heaven. In the heat of the moment, though, he didn't blame them for trying. "Your actions almost killed an innocent girl."

Their blades lock in the next instant, each bearing down for dominance.

"Consider it collateral damage. It drew you out of hiding, did it not?"

With one foot, he spins out of the deadlock and aims for her lower body. She jumps, bringing her knees to her chest. "Why bother with my daughter? I'm your target, Saneetra."

"The woman known as Saneetra Billaba has gone away," she corrected, "You may call me New Seeker. And you're the only thing standing between me and retribution."

Arguing with her was futile. Whatever he said, she was to continue thinking that the jedi caused her mother's murder and her own unhappiness. Kanan swings again, carving a little nick through her black jumpsuit just above the hip. "How would Sar react if she knew you joined the enemy?" Bringing up her mother was fine and good, a legitimate way to get her thoughts off the battle.

New Seeker falters, allowing him to get another jab to her side in. Holding her flank with one hand and lunging, she barely misses his neck. "How would Depa feel about you taking a twi'lek whore to bed?"

He has to pause momentarily to reign in his anger. It started as a fire burning in the pits of his stomach, giving rise to clenched teeth and slitted eyes. Kanan's cybernetics are impossibly wide as he tracks her position in the near darkness. His apprentice briefly glances over his shoulder, having heard this comment, and takes a step towards them.

In the next moment Kanan strikes again, going on the offensive through intermittent blaster fire. Just out of audible range, Hera leans back and takes her finger off the trigger.

"They're moving too fast," she mutters, concerned that with the rapid changes in position she'd strike one of their own. Glancing over at Ketsu, she's shocked to discover that her companion is fighting to keep consciousness amidst the severe pain she's in. Hera squeezes her arm and urges her to stay awake.

Something occurs to her in that moment. Even though the beacons are deactivated, the wildlife had yet to make an appearance. _Just where were all the krykna?_

Her question is soon answered in the form of a low rumbling underneath their feet. It grows louder and louder until it is almost deafening, and then the ground opens up underneath Ahsoka.

The togruta falls through the growing rift, which quickly swallows up Ezra and Maul. This is just the distraction New Seeker needs to deal a nearly fatal blow to Kanan, who falls backward and strikes his head on a rocky outcropping. His saber tumbles from his hand, rolling away before coming to a stop.

Hera is up in an instant, jumping over her fallen pilots to reach them. Saneetra pays her no mind, creeping forward with weapon held aloft. It's just the opportunity she's been waiting for; her target lays unconscious at her feet. Bending over, she prepares to sink the saber deep into his chest…

And is taken by surprise as a saber just misses the curve of her ear. It's a wild swing, one made by an unpracticed hand. Rising to her feet, she finds that Hera has collected the light saber and is holding onto it for dear life with both hands.

It's heavier than Kanan's graceful style of combat would have lead her to believe. But it inexplicably fits her grasp. Energy travels from the base along her upper body, setting her skin to tingle. She may not be force sensitive, but she sure knew how to handle a weapon. Hera widens her stance and lifts the saber. The look in her eye says something unmistakeable.

 _Bring it on._

 _(to be continued)_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: One more chapter to go! Warning, this chapter contains a bit of violence and blood.

Next time: Lessons can be learned even in the darkest of times.

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Nine**

Ezra is utterly taken by surprise as the ground falls out from underneath him. For one endless moment, he's falling down into the darkness. From experience, he knows that the ground of these underground caverns is smooth rock, so he braces for impact.

The air around him seems to vibrate; the moonlight catches on an undulating mass of exoskeletons far below. A herd of stampeding krykna had caused the collapse, the pounding of their legs on stone shaking the roof of the tunnel free.

Suddenly he remembers the violent nature of the nonsentient creatures. They were impervious everywhere except their eyes, and then only could be taken down by blaster fire. He'd forgotten to grab one in their haste to reach the barricade.

Seconds before he falls on top of the swarm, a great draft of air sweeps underneath him and pushes him to one side. Ahsoka clings to a nearby projection of the cave floor, her legs wrapped around it for support. As the young man draws near, she reaches out to him and pulls him in the rest of the way.

Unconsciously, his hands wrap around her forearms from the opposite side of the stalagmite. Craning their necks, they make eye contact. Maul is nowhere to be seen.

Clinging to the formation for dear life, Ezra sheaths his saber and waits for the stampede to pass. It could have been anywhere from thirty seconds to one hour-every heartbeat feels like an eternity. At last silence falls over the caverns. After checking her surroundings one final time, Ahsoka drops to the ground.

It's so dark that she can scarcely see her hand in front of her face. But there is someone hiding in the shadows; she can _feel_ it.

Far above them, Hera is locked in an intense confrontation with New Seeker. With every step they grow closer to the gaping hole in the ground. They are mostly evenly matched.

The fact that the twi'lek is even still _alive_ infuriates Saneetra. _It was ridiculous._ She followed no particular form of bladework, which made her every movement unpredictable. Typical of any pilot, her hands were extremely strong, her upper body impossibly flexible. But this woman didn't know what she was _doing_.

Hera, in the meantime, was only focused on giving Kanan and Ketsu time. Depending on which way she faced, she keeps them in her peripheral vision and adjusts her attacks accordingly. Depa's niece stares her down with such undeniable rage that she begins to feel the same. How _dare_ she strike her daughter deaf because of some irrepressible ego trip. How _dare_ she threaten the life of her lover and everyone else on Chopper Base. _How dare she_ -

"I grow _tired_ of this, Captain Syndulla," New Seeker snarls, blocking an attempt to knock her saber from her hands.

She steps back and twirls Kanan's saber in a circular motion at her side. This leaves her front completely vulnerable, but as she steps towards the Chalactan, she's satisfied to see her take a step back as well. "I could say the same."

"It would be easier for all of you if you just surrendered now. I can promise your death with be swift and painless," Saneetra says, not realizing that she's being backed up to the chasm. When her opponent doesn't respond, she presses, "Your kind doesn't belong here."

Hera doesn't want to ask what she means by that, because she already knows. It's what she heard in the days before she met Kanan, and even now with clients they didn't know particularly well. With a flick of the wrist, she catches New Seeker across the nose with the tip of her blade, drawing blood.

Her opponent pauses to cough, still holding on to her side where she's already been gored. She makes a lazy attempt towards Hera's midsection. "Females of your species should be dancing on tables or serving drinks. Tell me, how many beds did you have to jump into in order to get your ship?"

 _That was it._ Turning to one side and raising her leg, Hera lands a solid kick to her abdomen. With a muffled gasp, she falls backwards into the blackness of the pit.

A moment passes. Hera wipes the sweat from her brow. "None," she answers confidently, to no one in particular.

Somewhere behind her, someone plaintively calls her name. Kanan is quickly coming around to consciousness. Carefully, she cradles his head and feels the massive knot forming where his ponytail meets his neck. "Where are they?" He stammers out, reaching out to cup her cheek.

She kisses him briefly, before helping him up to his feet. Gesturing to the massive hole in the ground just out the circle of the sensor beacons, she says, "She's all yours."

"And Ketsu?"

Over her shoulder, Hera gestures to the smoldering form of the wrecked speeder. The bounty hunter's form is just barely visible behind it. "I'll see to her."

Kanan takes his saber from her hands. He didn't know what had just transpired, and perhaps she would never tell him. But that didn't matter now. "See you on the other side."

"Be careful, love," Hera calls out, just as he takes a flying leap into the caverns below.

-0-

Ahsoka nearly jumps out of her skin when her companion lands next to her. One saber comes out, providing a light to the darkness, and she's never been so relieved to see Kanan.

"A stampede-"

"There was a collapse-"

"I don't see where-"

He holds up a placating hand as he takes silent stock of the situation. His apprentice is suspended at least twenty feet in the air, hanging onto a stalagmite like his life depended on it. Ahsoka looks harried, on edge, and he doesn't blame her. He can feel it too.

"Duck!" Ezra suddenly shouts. Both comply. In the next second a spinning circle of red light soars over their hunched frames.

Kanan turns to behold his childhood friend, who looks a little worse for wear since he'd seen her last. A broad cut across her nose was bleeding profusely down her mouth and chin, her teeth bared and gnashed together. He almost didn't want to know what had happened while he was unconscious.

New Seeker charges on he and Ahsoka, catching her saber midair as it hit its arc and travels back. It was almost pitch black in the cavern; Kanan's cybernetics were struggling to compensate. He finally closes his eyes, relying on his other senses as he had in the early days after his injury.

Ahsoka's aura was self-assured with nervous impulses mixed in. At her core lay what made her unique, the force of optimism and good will. He could feel her at his elbow, responding to his every strike with deadly accuracy.

His apprentice's anguish cuts through his concentration. Behind them, Ezra is being pried off his vantage point by Maul, who has suddenly emerged from the shadows. He continues to cling on for precious few seconds, terror evident, but then he lets go and drops to the ground in a crouched position. This time, Kanan knows he is solid in his beliefs and won't let the ever-encroaching dark side influence the battle.

He _has_ to believe that. He and Ahsoka are beyond helping him, having been driven to the opposite end of the circle of moonlight on the cave floor. At some point New Seeker's steadfast adherence to Form VI falls by the wayside; she isn't following any particular school of bladework, rather lashing out and swinging her saber erratically. The glint in her eye is positively _feral_.

Kanan reaches within himself to find the bit of his past that he's always been so careful not to lose. He keeps his memories of Depa there, her strength, her wisdom, her affection for him. He recalls Sar Labooda's kind words and melodious laughter. And he forces all of them toward New Seeker, breaking through her fragile mental barriers like a tidal wave.

An ear piercing scream escapes her lips as everything comes rushing back. She's spent her entire life trying to forget her love for the Order, her mother's funeral, her disappointment at being held back from training like her friend Caleb, her father's body lying lifeless in the corridor as fire ravaged the home…

Then she resumes her attack with renewed purpose, all vestiges of sanity gone. Nothing in her training with the Inquisitorius, the lonely life she lived on Coruscant at their behest, could have prepared her for this. The weight of her actions pressed down on the former Ninth Sister from all sides. She sees no other way out but straight through.

Kanan's companion leans back as the circular saber very nearly nicks her neck. He has to jump vertically about a foot in the air to avoid the backswing and losing both feet. Together, they come about and aim for New Seeker's center of balance. The combined action of the three blades cuts the spinning section roughly in half, causing either section to go spinning across the cavern. It was reminiscent of how he'd taken down the Grand Inquisitor, except that this time Saneetra was forced to her knees with the two jedi standing on either side.

Truth be told, he never expected to get this far. Even through all their missions, Kanan hadn't put much thought to taking lives, though in this case he sincerely wanted to. Over her head, he makes eye contact with Ahsoka, who nods slowly.

The crack of discharge from a blaster fills his ears. Spinning around with saber aloft, he catches a glimpse of Ketsu, who has dragged herself to the perimeter of the hole, sights on her weapon fixed. She waits until New Seeker keens forward, clutching her chest, and then empties no less than five additional rounds into her body.

It's a flawless execution in the style of the Black Sun bounty hunters. Now spent from her crawl across the dirt, Ketsu disappears from sight.

New Seeker rolls over onto her back, the burns in her chest coursing blood. She reaches for Kanan's pant leg, but stops short.

"Caleb," she gasps, struggling for breath.

Against his better judgment, he stoops down to study the life disappearing from her eyes. He wonders if this was what Depa had looked like, laying on some battlefield all alone with the cries of her brothers in arms filling her ears.

She's not afraid. That much is evident. Saneetra is every inch the confident young woman he met in their childhood, even until the end. She waits until his face is within spitting distance, then whispers, "I swear to you that you will never know peace."

As if in slow motion, her features relax, follow by the rest of her body. Staring into Kanan's eyes, she breathes her last. For one endless moment, he can't move. The jedi reaches out and touches the Lesser Mark of Illumination set in her brow, then closes her eyelids with the thumb and forefinger. After everything they'd been through, finding and evading and finding each other again, it was finally over.

Ahsoka pulls him out of reverie, charging across the uneven ground towards Ezra, who is quickly tiring in his fight with Maul. He follows, jumping into the fray at his apprentice's side.

Old Master's skills are unparalleled, but he is ill-equipped to handle three challengers at once and they quickly gain the upper hand. Ezra throws the old man off balance and he takes several steps backward, fighting to catch his breath. "How much longer do you think your rebel cell can last?"

He had a feeling this question was rhetorical. Beneath their feet, a distant rumbling begins to shake the ground.

"Come with me, boy. You are more powerful than you know. The dark side will serve you well." It is the same tired argument, one that Ezra had learned to ignore. Kanan, meanwhile, starts to get a sense of the impending danger.

"Climb," he urges Ahsoka, who quickly complies, shimmying up the same projection of the cave floor they'd clung to earlier. His apprentice was unwilling to move until the hissing of the krykna reached his ears. Having reached the end of the caverns to one side, the herd was doubling back the way they came. They'd soon be their meal if something didn't give.

At last he turns and offers Kanan his arm. Together the two climb to safety.

They lose track of Maul in the ensuing stampede. The krykna kick up a lot of dirt as they scurry along, sparing no time for the three force sensitives high above their heads.

Eventually the throng dissipates and they're left with silence. With a little force assist, the trio jumps to safety. The sun's only just beginning to crest over the horizon, shedding light on the crumpled forms of their patrol just inside the sensor marker barricade. Ketsu lays mere feet from the edge, blaster held tightly over her chest.

Ahsoka offers her a hand, but the Mandalorian shakes her head, watching as dawn breaks over the sphere of Atollon. One leg lays at an odd angle, probably broken in multiple places. Oddly enough, she seems content.

No one says anything for quite some time. Kanan covers his face with his hand and sinks down to his haunches. At last from the direction of the dunes a familiar figure approaches.

Hera looks a little worse for wear, her pilot's uniform covered in grease. As they watch, she produces some sort of device covered with alternating lights. She makes a wide circle around the hole in the ground and walks straight into her son's embrace.

Over his head, she says, "He got away, if that's what you're wondering. But I tracked his ship to a quarter mile that way and before he even got there I rigged it with so many tracking beacons that we'll know if he adjusts his heading even a tenth of a degree."

Kanan steps closer and wraps his arms around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her brow. How was it that the woman to which he'd promised his heart could think so far ahead, even when everything was in jeopardy?

His apprentice steps out of the impending embrace at the last possible second, though Kanan reaches out to tousle his hair. Ezra rolls his eyes in spite of things, and turns to Ahsoka, who is looking straight through him at the deceased troops on the ground. He starts to open his mouth to say something, but decides against it.

He walks some distance away to contact the base. When someone answers, Sabine's voice is in the background. She sounds incongruously excited. "Ezra, what _happened_ out there?"

As if on cue, the sensor markers flicker on.

 _(to be continued, one last time)_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Here we are at the end! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, or just read along. I couldn't have done it without you.

There's no plans for another sequel right now, though more SWR stories may follow once season three starts and we get some new inspiration! Until we meet again, Skye

 **Through the Daybreak**

 **Part Ten**

Some time after the away team arrived back to Chopper Base, Sabine finds herself making careful tracks in the direction of the infirmary.

Truth be told, she was hesitant to press her family for information. Her father in particular appeared particularly stricken. He'd collected Rex and Zeb and immediately headed back out, only stopping to draw her into a hug, being ever so careful not to touch the bandages. Ezra passed her in the corridor without really looking at her, disappearing into his room to meditate. It was her mother that had sat her down in the common area and explained what had happened, sparing no gory detail.

Having heard of Ketsu's injury, Sabine is eager to see her. For someone in their line of work, the loss of mobility almost certainly meant retirement and subsequent destitution. Support had been crucial to Kanan's recovery after he'd lost his sight, however unwilling he'd initially been to accept it.

She finds Ketsu propped up in a collapsible bed, arms crossed as she derides their long-suffering medic. As expected, she is restless to get moving once again. " _What do you mean you can't bring me my blasters? I've got to polish and touch them up like I do after every mission. What kind of place is this?_ "

The young man shrugs his shoulders and casts a grateful glance towards Sabine. "I'll give the two of you some privacy."

" _Wait-you come back here-_ " She makes an errant reach for him, but stops midway when she sees her friend.

An awkward silence descends over the room. Carefully, Sabine retrieves a chair from the corner and pulls it up to the bedside. "Guess you're stuck with me."

" _I've been through worse,_ " Ketsu admits, crossing her arms behind her head. " _How were things here, little sister?_ "

"Quiet," she says. She glosses over the fact that she'd been pacing the floor of the control center, worried out of her mind. Now it was apparent that Ketsu could have died trying to prove her loyalty to an old friend. That fact was eating Sabine alive.

Ketsu pulls back the edge of the blanket to reveal her bare legs, one held stationary with a brace. A sickening purplish-red color pooled underneath the skin where the vessels had broken. Her calf was hopelessly warped, the musculature lopsided from where the speeder had fallen on top of it. " _I've shattered one of the bones in my lower leg, and broken my femur in three places. I'm lucky I wasn't completely flattened by the impact. That medic says they may have to amputate if the internal bleeding starts again. I'm not so sure about running around with a prosthetic leg._ "

"Ezra's got one, and he manages just fine," Sabine answers quietly. It was something she'd always been conscious of, but never asked about. As far as she knew, her brother wasn't willing to divulge that information.

She nods, settling back into the pillow. After some time, Ketsu assures her, " _You don't need to come in here with that scarf covering your head. We're both wounded, you know. There's no use hiding it._ "

The scarf comes off into Sabine's lap. Her hair is only just starting to grow back in patches, and it's debatable if she'll ever have a full head of it again. Fleetingly, she considers tattooing her scalp once the stitches come out.

" _They've made room for_ Shadow Caster _right beside the_ Ghost _. Looks like we're gonna be neighbors._ "

Wait a minute. Had she read her lips right? "Does this mean you're staying?"

" _Of course. When I'm all healed up, maybe I'll even join Phoenix Squadron._ " Ketsu reaches out and grabs her hand, trying to convey to her friend that there was no reason to feel guilty for what had happened.

Sabine's eyes light up and-a very rare occurrence as of late-she smiles.

And squeezes her hand back.

-0-

 _To whom it may concern: It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you…_

Hera sighs and places her datapad next to her in the bunk. None of these letters were ever easy to write. Try as she might, she couldn't perfect the careful pragmatism of Commander Sato, or the clinical detachment of her father when dealing with deaths of personnel.

 _Lieutenant Mishala served admirably under my command. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten. Phoenix Squadron is grateful for her loyalty…_

Many of the pilots killed at the hands of Old Master and New Seeker had no families; either they were drifters, searching for purpose in their lives, or wanted desperately to get back at the Empire for the deaths of their loved ones. Her pilots lived transiently, without much to their names, so tidying up their affairs was often easy. Six of them had already been buried in the mountains this past year, rings of wildflowers the only thing indicating their final resting places.

But on the oft occasion they listed a next of kin, things became difficult. Even when they had remains, it was next to impossible to get them back to the family. They had to be alright with their loved ones being thrown in an unmarked grave on some grubby little desert world. And there was no guarantee that Hera's message would even reach them, as many off-the-radar channels as it had to pass through. Such was the nature of their war.

The hatch opens to reveal Kanan, who looks exhausted despite it being only a few hours past daybreak. He waits for the door to close behind him, then leans against it and says, "We couldn't find Saneetra's body anywhere in the caverns."

That was an exaggeration, as they'd only ventured about a hundred feet until the cave ceiling lowered and they could no longer carry a sensor marker in front of them for protection. He watched her breath her last, but part of him couldn't _believe_ that it was over.

"No one could have survived that, love," she assures him. Not even a force sensitive could walk away from six blaster shots to the chest and a bloodthirsty krykna stampede.

He knows she's right. Sighing, he approaches the bed and sits directly behind her, pulling Hera into his chest. She settles herself into the vee of his legs, turning her cheek to nuzzle into his neck.

"How's the letters to the families coming along?"

 _Nothing like a reminder of death to ruin a romantic moment._ Hera props the datapad on her stomach to show what she has so far. "It doesn't matter how many of these I do, Kanan, I can't help but put myself in their place. What if you, or the kids, or anyone else here were to receive a message saying I had died?"

"Captain Syndulla is immortal," he announces automatically, mimicking a common saying among the pilots referencing her uncanny luck in combat situations. They both knew how untrue this was, and shared a private smile.

"But _Hera_ …" She pauses, seeking his hands to intertwine their fingers together. " _Hera_ is only one twi'lek, who fears things bigger than herself."

Kanan sets the datapad aside. "So does everyone else." This wasn't meant to discount her feelings; he still feels her flinch. "But we still keep moving, we still keep fighting."

"Dear, our problems are much larger than the average person living in the Empire. If we make a mistake, an entire city or world might be wiped out."

He considers this. "Then we should be glad that everyone is just as fearful of the unknown. If things start to change for the worse, people act. We've seen that firsthand. It's what keeps us alive, Hera."

"And if we start living for _anger_ instead of _fear_ …"

"We become like Saneetra," he concludes. An uneasy quiet descends over the pair. From the corridor, two sets of footsteps approach and then dissipate.

It would have been easy for Hera to let anger consume her. Sure she spent her life on the run, never sure when their next payday would be or if they would all live to see the next day, but what she'd gained through struggle more than made up for it. She had the privilege of sharing a bed with the most compassionate, thoughtful man in the galaxy-even if they never did find the time to marry, they had adopted two wonderful children and kept a close circle of friends. For a girl raised underground, terrified of Imperial raids and desperate to live up to the reputation of her parents, it was all she could ever hope for.

"We're going to survive this," she remarks apropos of nothing, securing his arms across her waist like a safety restraint.

"Don't we always?"

-0-

" _I can't believe she's dead,_ " Ezra marvels that night as they sit with their backs to his bunk.

In the near darkness, Sabine's eyes are trained towards his mouth. She sighs and disappears further into the cocoon of her blanket.

" _It's like the end of an era for Kanan. His master's gone, his master's sister's gone, and now her daughter is gone-_ " He holds up his clenched hands, as if he's reaching to find words to express something he can't quite place. " _And now we've got to go back to normal._ "

Of course normal was a relative term for people like them, who spent their days on the run committing vigilante action. But the sentiment was still there. "There's no guarantee Maul won't come back."

" _You're right,_ " Ezra responds, his expression inexplicably darkening. " _But if he does, we'll have plenty of warning._ "

And they'd be prepared. Sabine closes her eyes momentarily. "Ezra, do you ever wonder why we can't be regular kids? You know, go to school, learn a trade, find a mate, pop out a few children, grow old, and never worry about who the Empire is oppressing that day?"

Only every day after his parents died. Laying alone in his bed at night in the abandoned communications tower on the plains of Lothal, he'd often prayed to the powers that be that he could be ordinary, even just for a moment. Have a complete, happy home, and always know where his next meal would come from. _If only._

" _I guess we're destined for bigger and better things,_ " he concludes.

A few minutes pass without either saying anything. He thinks she may have fallen asleep, but then Sabine nudges him. "Ezra?"

"Mhmm?"

"I never had a brother back home. But I'm glad I have you."

Ezra is surprised to feel tears stinging the corners of his eyes. He swallows thickly and elbows her back. " _You're the best sister a guy like me could ask for. And I mean it._ "

"I know you do."

-0-

"Agent Kallus, we're receiving a transmission from open space," one of the nameless lieutenants reports, gazing up at his commanding officer on the elevated walkway.

This was unusual. Typically it was they who reached out to ships they passed, demanding authorization codes and identification. Sometimes they were lucky enough to come across a smuggler or rebel cell-lately, not so much.

"Can you trace the signature back to their vessel?" The tone in his voice conveyed that the answer better be _yes_.

He shakes his head. "It's encrypted, but looks to contain a set of coordinates."

"Route it back to my office," he orders dismissively, turning to leave.

Moments later, Kallus sinks into his desk chair, and places his head in his hands. He wasn't sure he could handle another week in the Outer Rim, trying his best to catch the Lothal rebels and getting nowhere. There were rumors among the ranks that he might even be replaced, transferred to some remote outpost to complete some low priority task for the ISB.

The message does indeed contain coordinates, and just five words written in standard.

 _Here you will find them._

Kallus enters the coordinates into the mapping system on his datapad, and is immediately placed somewhere in an unnamed system. He's a few hundred kilometers from an uncharted desert planet, which from preliminary readings seems perfectly inhabitable.

He considers his years of loyalty to the Empire. He thinks about the bounty on his head that would unquestionably be there if he didn't produce results.

And then he thinks of Zeb, the Lasat from the rebel cell who had introduced doubts into his mind that he'd been wrestling with for months.

His finger hovers over the delete button.

 **The End**


End file.
